The bill, which would take effect Jan. 1, 2012, would give people six months to acquire a firearm after turning 21. The provision does not apply to people who are barred from owning a firearm. The measure is known as an act “to provide for an individual mandate to adult citizens to provide for the self-defense of themselves and others.”The chief sponsor of the bill, Rep. Hal Wick, knows it won't succeed but that's the point. The government has no business mandating that citizens buy something. This is the rational for the decision of Florida Federal Judge Roger Vinson who ruled Monday that the entire Health Care Reform law is unconstitutional because it contains as an essential provision a mandate that everyone purchase insurance.
Wick is quoted as saying: “Do I or the other co-sponsors believe that the State of South Dakota can require citizens to buy firearms? Of course not. But at the same time, we do not believe the federal government can order every citizen to buy health insurance.”
If Vinson's decision is overturned by the Supreme Court next year there'll be no limit to what the government can mandate that you buy or not buy. They could mandate that you buy a Bible or a Koran, whether you want one or not. They could require you buy a car whether you need one or not. They could insist that you only buy cars made by American manufacturers and refrain from purchasing from non-unionized foreign companies. After all, that would, it could be argued, be helpful to the economic health of the nation, or at least to the UAW.
It's an interesting fact that this very same argument was made in 2008 during the Democratic primary contest between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It was made as a criticism of Ms. Clinton's health care proposal, ironically enough, by.... Of course, that was then and this is now. Some politicians believe it's permissible to say anything if it helps you get elected.
Thanks to Hot Air for the video.
