An Anxious Hand

I want to talk guns. Not whether or not we have a constitutional right to possess them. That has become a presumed reality. I want to, no need to, vent about when it's not ok to have access to a handgun, rifle or shoots (no pun intended), a BB gun.

The scenario is essentially this. In August, 1998, Sacha Emerson filed for divorce from Dr. Timothy Emerson down in Tom Green County, Texas. As part of the divorce, Mrs. Emerson sought a temporary injunction preventing the doctor from harassing and/or threatening her, among other things.

In September 1998, an evidentiary hearing was held. Mrs. Emerson was represented by counsel. The Doctor chose to represent himself.

Mrs. Emerson testified that her husband had been harrassing her and that he had threatened to kill a friend of hers. The good (pro se) Doctor declined to cross-examine his wife.

When he took the stand in his own behalf, he told the judge, God and the rest of the world that he was suffering from "anxiety" and that he was not "mentally in a good state of mind."

Needless to say, the Mrs. got her injunction, preventing 'Dr. Anxiety' from threatening, harassing her or their daughter, and from doing about 27 other things.

Meanwhile, in December, 1998 a federal grand jury returned a five-count indictment against the Doctor. Four of the five counts were dropped, pursuant to a request from the government. The remaining charge was that 'Timothy Joe Emerson possessed, unlawfully, a firearm in and affecting interstate commerce on November 11, 1998.' FYI, it was a Baretta he possessed while subject to the injunction.

The weapon had been purchased in October, 1997. And there was no fuss from the Doctor that it had travelled in interstate commerce or that the injunction was in force at the time.

This was his claim: that the federal statute under which he was charged was unconstitutional under the Second and Fifth Amendments. He also tossed in that the statute was 'improper exertion of federal power under the Commerce Clause and that it unconstitutionally usurps powers reserved to the states by the Tenth Amendment.' For good measure.

Oh, but Dr. 'Anxiety' wouldn't need all of that firepower. The Federal district court granted his motion of dismiss. The government appealed.

Now we're in the 5th Circuit court of appeals, which sits in New Orleans and covers three states - Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.

That court looked very painstakingly and tortuously at the wording of the Second Amendment, by first looking at "people," as in, "the right of the people to keep and bear arms..."

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