by When it comes to protecting the Constitution and the First Amendment right of free speech, I have come to understand that the longer a politician is in Washington, DC the less that they remember their oath of office.
Every US Representative takes the following oath:
I, (state your name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
While the oath has changed since the first Congress, it has always included a line stating that the elected representative will support the Constitution.
I read yesterday that Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, had sent a letter to President Trump urging action on “3-D printed guns.” The letter says in part:
As you know, the State Department recently reached an agreement with Defense Distributed that will allow the Texas-based company to publish blueprints for making 3D-printed guns on its website. This settlement requires the government to change export restrictions that have long been in place to prevent this sensitive technical data from getting into the hands of those overseas that would do us harm.
I am very concerned that the distribution of these blueprints could allow terrorists and international criminal organizations to manufacture guns that can’t be detected at current security checkpoints in airports, schools, and public buildings. These weapons will not be tagged by serial numbers, making them challenging to trace. This also could undermine U.S. laws that seek to stop the flow of weapons into war-torn countries, and other places where regimes use violence to retain power.
It is critical that our laws keep pace with technology. We can’t give terrorists or violent criminals an easier path to obtaining deadly weapons. I stand ready to help support your Administration in efforts to bolster our national security.
The hyperbole in this letter is astounding as is the stupidity. The thought that rebels and terrorists in “war-torn countries” would want a 3-D printed “plastic gun” when they could have a functioning AK-47 or M-16 made in the Khyber Pass is ridiculous. A quick Google search on “M16 blueprints pdf” returns 377,000 hits. As to detection, if the nudie scan machine at the airport’s TSA checkpoint can detect a slip of paper in my pocket, it would be able to detect a “plastic gun”.
It is at this point I should mention that Royce has decided not to run for re-election to his seat in Congress where he has served since 1993. He is also “A-rated” by the NRA.
Lame duck or not, NRA A-rated or not, Ed Royce took an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic’ and swore that he would bear true faith and allegiance to it. Defending the Constitution includes defending free speech and attempts at prior restraint. Royce for all intents and purposes agrees with trampling on the Constitution when it serves his political interests.
In a just world, Royce would be forced to resign. Within the Beltway, he will be applauded for his “courage” and rewarded with a fat consultancy come January 2019.
