This is the second installment in my new series about the Second Amendment, militias, government, and the natural right of self/defense.  After a few more segments I’ll get to the American experience.  This column is concerned with more ancient sources. Read on.

My last segment concerned the Natural Law and the provisions therein allowing for armed resistance of force and tyranny.  For those not acquainted with Natural Law (American attorneys, etc.), it is the universal law instituted by God for the management of human societies.  God’s first draft was extraordinarily simple, as He supposed that people would be capable of easily governing themselves in paradise.  The law was codified as: “Don’t eat that fruit.”  Unfortunately, the first humans were as dense as their descendants today.  They ate the fruit and thus complicated our lives forever. 

God later attempted to set out ten simple laws He expected us to obey.  True to our fallen…

This is a follow-up to some of my recent columns, Posse Comitatus,A Short History of Gun Control in America, and others.  The Second Amendment and its subject matter have been in the news recently as part of the never-ending “debate” over gun control.  The Amendment has also received special attention from the U.S. Supreme Court twice in the past five years. 

My purpose here is to explain what the Amendment means and what most commentators (even pro-firearms authors) miss in their reading and application.  Even if you do not own guns or have an interest in them, this issue affects you and your Liberty.  Somewhere in the writing process I realized I should have divided this into several segments.  My apologies for the heft of the article.  Sadly, I didn’t even get to add in half of what I should – maybe a book is in order?  certainly a follow-up’s…

You have answers, I have questions.  You have questions, I have comments.  In the tradition of Fire Hat…

I want to give my white man’s perspective on basketball: “Who cares?”

Kim Jong Unbalenced has kindly offered to bomb D.C.  We should get him a fruit basket or something.

The more television channels, the less shows worth watching.

If not for politicians and banksters, who would rats and roaches look down upon?

Since they can drive and talk on the phone at the same time, why can’t people drive and use turn signals concurrently?

Aside from the Brady Center and mental inpatients, does Piers Morgan have an audience?

Imperial and Georgian forces have raided the property of the FPSRussia guy – don’t post yourself with guns on Youtube.

When are the next parliamentary elections in Cyprus?

Why are banks still standing in Cyprus?

Considering that almost every town has a thief and maybe…

On this scalding, 100 degree plus day, with wildfires burning ominously across the land, our friends at the U.S. Supreme Court have upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010¹ (a.k.a., It’s Just Another Tax Act).   Mind that they did not uphold it, Constitutionality speaking; they just upheld it.  It’s a hold-up, with real guns and all.  I reread the Constitution this morning and could not find any authority regarding patients or affordable care.  Maybe I missed something.

The case is National Federation of Something vs. Cerberus, Dark Lord of the Ministry of Health and Human Taxes.²  It’s a 193-page doozie and not worth reading.  If you must, skip to the final two pages wherein Justice Thomas throws up his dissenting hands and screams, “WTF?!”  Allow me to save you some time and tears.  The Court’s legal reasoning [SIC] goes like this – Congress…

In my last column in this series I ended by reviewing some of the ancient British customs regarding arms and defense.  This article concerns those more readily available but still usually uncited English legal traditions dating to several hundred years before the American Revolution.  Again, as with purely ancient intellectuals, those who preserved and lived this period of history regarded the rights of defense, self-preservation, and, necessarily, arms to be the stuff of natural law.  They regarded these rights as to defense from criminals, defense against foreign threats, and, particularly, as to thwarting domestic tyranny.

This common law tradition was already set in writing in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries with the Assize of Arms (1181) and the Magna Carta (Great Charter, 1215).  In 1285 the Statute of Winchester mandates that all citizens provide arms, according to their respective abilities, for militia usage.  Through this period and until the seventeenth century, England had little in…

Smoking a good cigar can be one of life’s great joys.  It can also be a little intimidating for a beginner.  When I started out I had to endure several long months of trial and painful error.  I hope you can avoid that. 

**NOTES: This article is a little long.  Therefore, I’ve divided it into sections with bold caption headings.  If you have a question about a particular subject, just scroll down until you see it.  Of course, I think the story is worth reading in its entirety.

Also, this is a guide to proper cigar smoking, not a guide to cigars (I do briefly touch on some common elements though).  My aim here is to educate readers about the how-to’s of the cigar world.  I leave picking a stick to you, your imagination, and your local tobacconist.**

And now, here’s some cigar advice:

Finding a Cigar Shop

First…

“Politics” comes from ancient Greek roots.  “Poly,” of course, means “many” and “Ticks” are little blood-sucking parasites.  Thus, “politics” means: many little blood-sucking parasites.  I really wish I could attribute that definition to my own genius but I feel overly honest today.

(Emperor Palpatine, the ultimate politician. Source: Google Images.)

Wikipedia says “politics” is  “the art or science of influencing people on a civic, or individual level…”  See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics. 

I have studied politics (formally and informally) since around 1980.  In those days, everyone in the South tended to be Democrats, party-wise.  My parents were proud Democrats at the time and were horrified when Ronald Reagan won the Presidency.  I watched on.  As the years progressed, I decided I was a “conservative” and, therefore, a Republican, much like Reagan. 

I watched Family Ties back then and might have been influenced by the antics of Alex P. Keating.  Then came the Rush Limbaugh era; I listened everyday after high…

This article is an extension of my recent columns on The Constitution, https://perrinlovett.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/the-united-states-constitution/, and Legal “Education,” https://perrinlovett.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/legal-education/.  One would think that the matter of Constitutional law would have been covered in my article on the Constitution itself – unless one also read my treatise on law schooling.

Oddly, in my experience, the Constitution itself is not required reading for Constitutional law classes. Rather, some imported parts of the document are set forth in the text-book used by the professor. This strikes me as intellectually dishonest and unwise, akin to using a dangerous power tool without first reading the directions. Herein, I briefly cover the usual course material from such as class. The professors, many of whom have never been in a court, let alone argued for or against the Constitution, regurgitate the rulings of different courts regarding a limited number of subjects. While there is an…

Boston attorney Harvey Sliverglate wrote an insightful book called Three Felonies A Day, http://www.amazon.com/Three-Felonies-Day-Target-Innocent/dp/1594035229, about how the average “law-abiding” American commits three “serious” offenses every day without realizing it.  His point is one I have seen firsthand – the feds have thousands of laws, which criminalize everything imaginable, from which to choose to selectively prosecute anyone they want.  They can always decline, but when they do target a citizen, that person is instantly in a world of pain. 

Here’s an example of such a federal criminal law you didn’t know about and probably have committed.  After law school, passing the bar exam, and practicing criminal law for years, I had never heard of it until one particular case (maybe I’m dumb…).  The mere existence of the law and it’s application potential I find staggering.  

I had a client charged with another crime who received a wrist-slap as punishment (more excellent lawyering, folks! [my…

Don’t talk.  Do not ever talk to the police under any circumstances whatsoever, ever.  Ever.  This is the general libertarian legal advice given by good lawyers who wish to spare their clients and anyone else listening the possibility of unwittingly implicating themselves in criminal activity, whether they were actually involved or not.

I like this advice and tend to give it to clients myself.  However, as with most legal issues, this matter is not quite that simple.  Well, maybe it is, but there are reasons why you might need to address the cops.  I’ll get to those a little later.

On March 10, 2013 I will address the Libertarian Party of the greater Augusta, Georgia area.  I was asked to speak on the subject of citizen interaction with the police in general and, more specifically, interactions involving a citizen carrying a firearm.  I will do so happily.  This column is…