Birdsong's Law Blog

Birdsong wishes to share with you a well written  directed research paper by student Daniel Burgess.  Mr. Burgess is a strong advocate of the Second Amendment to the Constitution and opposes gun control.  His paper analyzes the early foundations of gun control laws in the U.S.  He submits that more citizens with guns would mean less crime. It is his basic thesis that the Second Amendment right of U.S. citizens to bear arms is a enumerated individual right.  Mr.  Burgess makes some cogent arguments concerning gun control  and self defense.  He has given Birdsong his permission to share his  thoughts and arguments with a wider world. Take a gander.

If You Want to Stop the Crime, Let Me Have What’s Mine:

America’s Crime Rates and Our Individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Daniel W. Burgess, Jr.

July 27, 2009

 I.                   Introduction

This paper addresses the issues of crime and gun control. There is an ongoing debate about whether gun control is the problem or the solution. Proponents of gun control seek to strip the people of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms under the veil of flagrant and idyllic responses to crime, claiming guns are the problem. The opponents of gun control fight for the very freedom which was granted to them by the founding fathers and enumerated in the Bill of Rights, arguing that more guns equals less crime. [1] The reality is that by taking a law abiding citizen’s means of self-protection, one is essentially arming the criminal and inviting crime into every peaceful household in America. Italian criminologist, Cesare Beccaria, summed it up perfectly by

Birdsong does his share of teaching students at Barry about asylum and presecution grounds.  One of my students, Serena S. Watson has done some independent research you might interesting.  Her research concerns what happens to those who have been persecutors when they seek asylum in the U.S.  She has given me permission to post her paper on the subject.  Enjoy and learn.

I. INTRODUCTION

Imagine the world as one huge dodge ball field. This dodge ball field holds an annual tournament with different participating teams. The teams are Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. Each team has the freedom to pick and choose their players. Not all players may want to stay with their original teams, therefore, transferring is allowed. In order to transfer teams a list of requirements

Birdsong has only lately come to learn that there have been about 300,000 child soldiers who have fought in wars and rebellions across the world since the 1990′s.  Birdsong’s student, Shelya Nieves, has researched the problems of child soldiers and the problems they present in the context of refugee law.  She has written an outstanding paper on the subject that she has allowed me to post on the blog.  You will find this information very enlighting.

Back when  Birdsong was a radio talk show host I often  liked to have some good clean fun by skewering Republican politicians and their antics on my radio program.  Birdsong is so busy these days with other such pursuits as teaching law, writing, and  lecturingfor the  bar prep company, BARBRI, that I have had little time to make fun of the Repubs.

Unfortunately, given the GOP’s position in the Senate and House of Representatives with respect to the proposed $787 Billion bill that Congress passed earlier this afternoon without a single Republican vote, the GOP may be on their way to oblivion.  There may be no GOP to skewer in a few years to come.  The party’s monolithic obstructionism of Obama and the proposed stimulus package shows how out of step they are with the changing mood of our country.  Most people want the country  and the President to succeed.

 Birdsong understands the GOP now sees itself as the “loyal opposition.”  However, since the GOP has decided to stand together and follow Rush Limbaugh’s call to help see  that Obama’s policies fail