Who Can Amend the Constitution?

According to the original U.S. Constitution, the Constitution can only be amended when the change is “ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof.”

Apparently that part of the Constitution doesn’t apply in Massachusetts.

Greg Schubert was walking down the street, minding his own business, and exercising his constitutional right to keep and bear arms. In addition to being in full compliance with the U.S. Constitution, Mr. Schubert was also in full compliance with the unconstitutional Massachusetts law that requires a citizens to obtain a concealed carry license before exercising their Constitutional rights.

Officer Stern (yes, that’s his real name) noticed that Greg was carrying a concealed pistol beneath his jacket. In other words, Officer Stern notices that Mr. Schubert was exercising his Constitutional rights.

This did not sit well with Office Stern, who feels that the Constition does not apply to his beat. As a result, Officer Stern leaped out of his patrol car, pulled his duty gun, and pointed it directly at the face of the surprised citizen. In other words, Officer Stern compromised public safety and created a completely unnecessary risk to the life of citizen Schubert.

Office Stern then publicly frisked the surprised attorney. At this point, Greg Schubert produced his legal permit to carry a concealed firearm. This should have been the end of the story, except perhaps for an apology from Officer Stern.

Instead, Stern veered ever further off course by locking Greg in the back of a patrol car and threatening him with criminal charges for exercising his Constitutional rights in a completely legal manner. The obviously disturbed officer went so far as to claim that he was the only person allowed to carry a weapon on his beat. Apparently Officer Stern is completely unaware of the existence of the United States Constitution.

The completely out of control officer then left — with Mr. Shubert’s property! Officer Stern’s stated excuse for this outrage was that he could not confirm that Mr. Schubert’s state-issued concealed carry permit was valid. A concealed carry permit is a government document. If the government won’t accept government documents, what is their purpose? Why should we bother to apply for concealed carry permits is the government simply ignores them? Why pass laws if the government won’t follow them? Why maintain the illusion of Constitutional law if we aren’t going to maintain the reality of it?

Greg did get his pistol back, though he had to travel unarmed through a dangerous neighborhood to do so. He then filed a complaint with the police department. The department declined to discipline Officer Stern for his malevolent assault on the Constitution. Mr. Schubert then sued in federal court, but the government ignored his request for justice. He then appealed and was given the same short treatment by the appeals court. Greg’s next avenue of recourse is the U.S. Supreme Court. He has a snowballs chance in hell of being heard in that court.

If there is no justice for Greg Schubert and there is no justice for the United States Constitution then there is no justice for any American. When any uneducated patrol officer can take away your Constitutional rights and have their actions upheld by the District Court and the Appellate Court, we don’t rule have the “rule of law” in the United States any more. What we now have is a dictatorship where the laws are made up as we go by every individual petty bureaucrat in the government — and the citizens have no legal recourse against their decisions.

I am reminded now of the words of Thomas Jefferson in the United States Declaration of Independence:

… when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.