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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Firearm decision by U.S. Supreme Court still a smoking gun
Dear Readers, As
many of you may
have noticed, the
United States Supreme Court
has spoken on the mean
ing of the 2nd Amendment.
The Heller case seems to
definitively provide that the
2nd Amendment protects an
individual’s constitutional
right to own and carry a
firearm.
Unfortunately, this deci
sion is not as clear as it has
been portrayed in the media.
It is another deeply frac
tured 5-4 opinion, where a
rather tortured and tedious
majority opinion, authored
by Justice Antonin Scalia,
hangs by the thread of a
single vote.
With mind-numbing anal
ysis, Justice Scalia hearkens
back to the English Bill of
Rights and editorial com
mentary both before and
after the 2nd Amendment
What does it mean? Vra choose!
What does gasoline
at over $4 a gallon
mean to you? Has
it caused you to change your
behaviors? I offer this as
an example because rising
gasoline prices are affecting
all of us.
Many times, we underes
timate our power in making
choices. We all make deci
sions in three very different
but related areas:
• “What meaning do you
make of the.situation you’re
now facing?”
• “Where will you focus
vour limited time and ener
gy?”
• “What action will you
take in response to the situ
ation you’re now facing?”
"Many times, we
underestimate our
power in making
choices."
LETTER
From page 4A
His precious America and
see the wanton carnage
going on here in the name of
“freedom” and “choice”.
LETTER 1
From page 4A
“Us” are the good guys
while “them” are the crooks
and criminals that prompted
the ban overturn in the first
LETTER 2
From page 4A
selfish, blandishments and
threats of the so-called “red
shirts”. The city is now more
likely to become a better
NOTICE
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July 15, 2008
Polling Places Open
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478-987-1973
SHERIFF
The law'Man
was ratified. His “sentence
diagramming” of the 2nd
Amendment’s text will proba
bly only bring accolades from
the most fastidious English
Professor. Frankly, Justice
Scalia spends so much time
debating the merits of the
two dissents, namely Justice
Paul Stevens’ scathing reply,
the threads of his legal argu
ments are almost impossible
to follow.
Ultimately, Justice Scalia
concludes that the individual
right to protect one’s home
Building Future Leaders
This week, I focus on
“making meaning.” Next
week, I’ll address your meth
ods for choosing where to
focus your time and energy.
Last week, I looked at your
choices for taking action
and the options you forego
in doing so (contact me for a
copy of that article).
Back, to my example - we
often make snap judgments
about circumstances, and
it influences our behaviors.
You and I “make meaning”
of every situation we face,
even when we don’t under
stand all the implications!
For example, I’m hearing a
God, help us return to our
roots in your Word and renew
our compassion for the help
less and innocent among us
and forgive us, Lord, our tran
gressions.
- Leslie Pasquini,
Elko
place. Let us hope “them"
find the justice they deserve,
sweet, swift and final; then
maybe Washington D.C. will
again be a safe place for “us”
to visit.
- Walter Huckeba,
Perry
place to live and work and
play. It will be safer with a
new fire station and its new
parks will promote city pride.
Bravo for a job well done.
- Frank W. Gadbois,
Warner Robins
Paid tor by the I fiends ol Cullen Pal ion.
and self is almost a “natural”
right existing at the time
of the American Revolution.
Thus, the 2nd Amendment
restates this individual right
and prohibits it from being
infringed by the Washington
D.C. government.
There are two potent rebut
tals. First, Justice Stevens
attacks Justice Scalia’s rea
soning, point-by-point, dis
proving (in his mind) each of
the majority opinion’s main
premises. Justice Stevens,
therefore, concludes that the
2nd Amendment is not an
individual right, but one that
is principally a “State mili
tia” and “collective” right.
He looks to the historical
context of the Constitution,
e.g., that there was an abid
ing fear of the tyranni
cal potential of a standing
national army.
In his view, then, the 2nd
Amendment is tied to State
Jim
Rockefeller
Attorney,
Rockefeller
Law Center
lot of complaints about the
high price of gasoline.
Higher fuel prices may
cause many of us to curtail
travel. Less traffic, how
ever, means less pollution,
lower insurance premiums,
and fewer deaths on the
highway. To reduce energy
consumption, some organi
zations will transition to a
four-day workweek. Some
individuals will eat out less
and walk or bike more, so
our national obesity rate
may drop. That’s not all
bad!
Further, you might decide
to pursue an entrepre
neurial venture involving
research and application of
alternative fuel use, provid
ing breakthrough technol
ogy for all of us. So, higher
gasoline prices could be
good, right? We each make
our own meaning of every
situation we face.
Last week, my wife was
uncharacteristically quiet
I couldn’t imagine why
Dennis
Hooper
Your
Leadership
Coach
MONCRIEF
From page 4A
I don’t do idle chitchat
well. I guess I’m from the
original “hands free” gen
eration.
Blame God but then that
might just be His cruel
joke.
You might find me one
day old and gray ... uh,
much older and much
grayer ... sitting on the
front porch in a rocking
chair with one of those old
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Political advertisment paid for by candidate.
militias as a bulwark against
the potential excesses of
the newly created Federal
Government.
Justice Stevenß has an his
torical point as, if you will
remember, warfare changed
with the Revolutionary War;
it exposed the advantage of
civilian militias against the
“professional” and “merce
nary” armies, then in vogue.
This lesson played out in
greater relief during the
French Revolution, when
Napoleon’s citizen-army
marched across Europe.
The second rebuttal comes
from Justice Stephen Breyer,
•which might have more last
ing impact on future rul
ings. Justice Scalia’s major
ity opinion suggests that
there are a host of permis
sible restrictions on the 2nd
Amendment, including ban
ning possession by felons
and the insane, as well as
she was upset with me.
Occasionally, as I went
about my business, I’d see
a look of disapproval cross
her face. The more I tried
to figure out what I’d done
wrong, the more bewildered
I became.
Finally, I asked. Turns out
that she was thinking about
a big project she’s been
working on, and the looks of
disapproval were her disap
pointment with opportuni
ties she had overlooked. She
wasn’t thinking about me at
all. I was attributing errone
ous meaning to her facial
expressions!
Avoid my mistake.
Communication is essen
tial. Jumping to conclusions
about your colleagues and
employees will only bring
trouble. Instead, ask. You
might be surprised by what
you learn. Create an envi
ronment where those you
influence feel safe in reveal
ing what’s really on their
minds.
Reading Viktor Frankl’s
1946 book, Man’s Search
for Meaning, provides great
insight into your freedom
timey trumpet-type hear
ing aids stuck in my ear.
“Uh ... What’s that you
say sonny?” I rub the
whiskers on my chin,
squint through the cata
racts, smack my lips a bit
while running my tongue
over my ‘gums’ ... (Wonder
again why I didn’t invest
in those eyesight, hear
ing and dental plans) ...
“Could you come on over
hear and say that again?
Cept this time yell it into
my ‘speakerphone’ so’s in
I can hear ...”
permitting for registration
and licensing of handguns.
Yet, while the D.C. law was
struck down, there is not
a hint of how to interpret
Heller.
Justice Breyer posits a
legal rule that a ban might
be permissible as a reason
able exercise of governmen
tal authority to combat the
ills of urban crime. Hence, he
suggests that a law restrict
ing a right to bear arms need
only have a “rational basis,”
a roadmap to permit future
laws to pass constitutional
muster.
There is a final problem
with Heller. At issue was
a rather draconian federal
statue banning all hand
guns in Washington, D.C.;
in effect, the “government”
infringing on a right to bear
arms was a “national” gov
ernment, as opposed to a
state government.
to choose your response to
any situation. Frankl was
an Austrian psychiatrist
interred in a Nazi concen
tration camp. He observed
prisoner responses to the
abysmal conditions:
Some captives settled into
apathy. Many lost hope and
slowly withered and died.
A few used their limited
energy to serve the others.
Frankl wrote, “Man does
not simply exist but always
decides what his existence
will be, what he will become
in the next moment.” You
decide what meaning you
give to the comments and
actions of your customers,
your employees, and your
suppliers.
From that meaning, you
then choose what actions
you will take to respond to
current and future situa
tions. Next week, I’ll explore
the power you have to con
sciously choose where you
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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SATUROAY, JULY 12, 2008 ♦
This distinction may even
tually prove significant, as
future courts may limit the
impact of Heller to national
laws, as opposed to those
of states and local govern
ments.
So, we now know there is a
2nd Amendment individual
right to possess a firearm.
But, unfortunately, because
the current Supreme Court
is so ideologically divided,
that may be all we know for
the time being - much litiga
tion is sure to follow.
Local attorney Jim
Rockefeller owns the
Rockefeller Law Center and
is a former Houston County
Chief Assistant District
Attorney, and a former Miami
Prosecutor. Visit www.rocke
fellerlawcenter.com to submit
confidential legal questions,
and to review former arti
cles and Frequently Asked
Questions.
focus your limited energy
and time.
Dennis Hooper supports
leaders who want to gener
ate a stronger organizational
culture, including building
future leaders. Call Dennis
at 478-988-0237, or e-mail
him at dhooper2@juno.com.
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F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237
; so: ir * ■
5A
1647 13
dhooper2@juno.com!