At 12:19 PM -0700 6/27/97, Bill Stewart wrote:
http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/95-1478.ZS.html A messy 5-4 decision, with two concurrences and three dissents.
Overturns the part of the Brady Bill that forces local officials to perform some of the administrative functions. Lots of complex commentary.
And Friends of Liberty (assuming that is not a trademarked property of Wired , Explorers of the Digital Frontier and Cyberspace ) should not be supporting the National Rifle Association proposal, either. One of the reasons I quit the NRA was there strong support, indeed, their strong lobbying for, a "national on-line records check." The idea is that if Joe Blow purchases a gun in Skokie, Illinois, the computerized national data base would flag that he's some sort of criminal, whether major or minor, in some other state. This national data base would undoubtedly be cross-indexed by SS numbers, aliases, etc. Partial data bases like this already exist, of course, a la the NCIC. This would take us further in the direction of a national dossier system. And the "while you wait" system, which would lead to, "Sorry, sir, your application to purchase a handgun has been declined" sorts of events, also means that vastly more people will be making queries of this system. My solution is simple: no checks whatsoever. If someone commits a crime, lock him or her up or shoot them, or whatever. But once the penalty is over, all normal rights return. The right to vote, the right to free speech, the right to own weapons, etc. (Somehow most people think it's OK that convicted felons lose their rights to vote and to have guns. (Once they're released, of course.) Do they think convicted felons no longer have religious freedom? Can no longer write as they wish? Jeesh.) The National Rifle Association has become a den of statist compromisers. It should be added to any hit lists. --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!" ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."