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Don Bird Lawsuit Exposes CA
Contempt for Bill of Rights by Brian Puckett August 12, 2001 I reported on Don Bird's lawsuit against various California officials,
including the Governor and various legislators, in a previous
KeepAndBearArms.com report. [See https://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2223.]
The government's attorneys have responded to Mr. Bird's lawsuit, and the
response makes interesting reading for those who are contemplating similar suits
in your own locales. First, the response attacks various technical details of Mr. Bird's lawsuit,
even though anyone reading the lawsuit knows precisely what Mr. Bird is
alleging. To be specific, he correctly alleges that his civil rights under the
Second Amendment are being blatantly violated by various laws that the
California governor and the named legislators have pushed for, enacted, and are
now enforcing, all in direct violation of their oaths of office. The US Code
Title 18 violations (such as conspiracy to violate civil rights) and US Code
Title 42 remedies for such violations Mr. Bird is utilizing can be viewed on
this page: Filing a Gun
Rights Lawsuit by Brian Puckett. (See: https://www.keepandbeararms.com/information/XcIBViewItem.asp?ID=2364.)
Fortunately, a list of legal/technical errors that the governor's legal
counsel is claiming can be found in Mr. Bird's lawsuit (called the
"Memorandum of Points and Authorities") is serving as a guide to amend
his lawsuit, which a judge has ruled he could re-file. As an aside, the state
Attorney General's office is serving as the governor's counsel even though Mr.
Bird's lawsuit is filed against the governor as an individual person, and
not as an agent of the state. It remains to be seen whether Governor Davis will
be held accountable for using the state's resources to defend himself
personally. It should be noted that for anyone who wishes to file similar suits against
officials in their state, it is best to have a correctly written complaint from
the outset. Therefore it is best to enlist the help of an experienced attorney,
though it isn't absolutely necessary. There is a website devoted to helping
Californians file their own (pro se) lawsuits: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp/.
In Mr. Bird's case, he didn't know of such an attorney and got tired of
waiting for the perfect moment, and filed suit on his own (pro se), for
which he is to be commended. The cost for filing the suit was about $150. Perhaps the most astounding aspect of the governor's response to Mr. Bird's
lawsuit is that it claims that California citizens have no individual right
to own and use firearms. I quote directly from the response signed by CA
Attorney General Bill Lockyer on behalf of Governor Gray Davis: "That is, Plaintiff [Mr. Bird] has no legally recognized right to
bear arms under the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution." "...the Constitution does not provide a private right to bear
arms." "As a result, the Second Amendment does not protect the possession
of a weapon by a private citizen." This could not be any clearer: Davis, Lockyer and the rest of their
Democratic kind in California have absolute contempt for the Bill of Rights and
contempt for the citizens of California regarding their right to defend
themselves. Personally, I believe that any vote for any Democrat anywhere merely
encourages this disgusting, socialist, anti-American political party in its
increasingly vicious assault on our freedoms. If you're wondering why I'm letting the Republican Party off the hook, it is
because there is a still a small chance that this party can be reformed, whereas
the Democrats are beyond any hope. As for Libertarians, while certain aspects of
their ideology are stunningly wrong-headed in the real world and will probably
doom them to perpetual minority status (e.g., open borders, no zoning laws, no
government property [including national parks]), their views on gun-related
rights are correct, and I will continue to vote for certain individual
Libertarian candidates. Perhaps, someday, the Republican Party in California will awaken to the fact
that they continue to lose power because they rarely stand on principle, and
therefore hundreds of thousands of people who would vote for a Republican simply
stay at home on election day because there's no point in voting "Democrat
Lite". One of the few Californians who really understood the value of not
backing down on principle and not weaseling words - Ronald Reagan - became
President of the United States. Having vented my political views, I return to the lawsuit. One has only to
read the actual response to Mr. Bird's to understand that the government's
contempt extends beyond the legal aspects of this situation to include Mr. Bird
himself, no doubt because he has the courage to stand up to these thugs. I do
not use the word "thug" lightly. Anyone who attempts to disarm
peaceable Americans exercising a Constitutionally protected right, and who is
willing to use force to achieve this disarmament is a thug. I end this report by again encouraging Americans everywhere to go on the
offensive and sue any public officials who are attempting to disarm you via
their offices or via laws they pass. At worst, you will learn something about
the law, and at best, your case may be the one which results in repealing
unconstitutional laws in your state, or even in repealing unconstitutional
federal laws. Don't think one person can make such a difference? Ask Rosa Parks
about that. IMPORTANT NOTE: Mr. Bird is looking for California attorneys willing to help
him in this case, not for money, but because they understand that they have a
right to own and use firearms and are willing to fight to continue exercising
that right. If you are such a person, please contact Mr. Bird at 530-585-2779 or write to
him: Don Bird KABA NOTE: Now that the governor of California is directly
stating a false opinion (as fact) that directly opposes the official position of
the Department of Justice -- that citizens do not have an individual right to
keep and bear arms -- perhaps you'd like to contact the DOJ and urge them to put
Gray Davis in his place. If so: Attorney General/Department of Justice Email Address: AskDOJ@usdoj.gov |
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