The best clues to the meaning of the key words and phrases are in debates in the First Congress of the United States . The Members of that Congress were the authors of the Second Amendment . A constitutional amendment calling for the prohibition of standing armies in time of peace was proposed by six state ratifying conventions . Virginia 's version , later copied by New York and North Carolina , brought together three elements in one article -- affirmation of a right to bear arms , reliance on state militia , and opposition to a standing army : `` That the people have a right to keep and bear arms ; that a well-regulated militia , composed of the body of the people trained to arms , is the proper , natural , and safe defense of a free state ; that standing armies , in times of peace , are dangerous to liberty , and therefore ought to be avoided ... . '' The purpose was to limit the power of the new Congress to establish a standing army , and instead to rely on state militias under command of governors . The Constitution was ratified without adopting any of the scores of proposed amendments . But in several states ratification came only with solemn pledges that amendments would follow . Soon after the First Congress met , James Madison , elected as a congressman from Virginia on the basis of such a pledge , proposed a number of amendments resembling yet different from articles proposed by states . These eventually became the Bill of Rights . In the version of the arms amendment he presented , Madison dropped mention of a standing army and added a conscientious objector clause . `` The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed , a well armed and well regulated militia being the best security of a free country , but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to render military service in person . '' In this version , `` bearing arms '' must mean `` to render military service , '' or why else would there have to be an exemption for religious reasons ? What right must not be infringed ? The right of the people to serve in the militia . This militia amendment was referred to a congressional committee , and came out of committee in this form : `` A well regulated militia , composed of the body of the people , being the best security of a free state , the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed ; but no person religiously scrupulous shall be compelled to bear arms . '' Two significant changes had been made : first , the phrase `` to render military service in person '' was replaced by the phrase `` to bear arms , '' again indicating that they are two ways to say the same thing ; second , an explanation was added , that the `` militia '' is `` composed of the body of the people . '' The House then debated this new version in committee of the whole and , surprisingly , considering the subsequent history of the provision , never once did any member mention the private uses of arms , for self-protection , or hunting , or any other personal purpose . The debate focused exclusively on the conscientious objector provision . Eventually the committee 's version was narrowly approved . The Senate in turn gave it its final form , briefer , unfortunately more elliptical , and with the exemption for conscientious objectors deleted : `` A well-regulated militia , being necessary to the security of a free state , the right of the people to keep and bear arms , shall not be infringed . '' Certain explanations were lost or buried in this legislative process : that the right to bear arms meant the right to serve in the militia ; that just about everybody was included in the militia ; and that the amendment as a whole sought to minimize if not eliminate reliance on a standing army by emphasizing the role of the state militia , which would require that everyone be ready to be called to serve . But what about the private right `` to keep and bear arms , '' to own a gun for self-defense and hunting ? Is n't that clearly protected by the amendment ? Did n't just about everyone own a gun in 1791 ? Would n't that right go without saying ? Yes , of course , it would go without saying , especially then when there were no organized police forces and when hunting was essential to the food supply . But such facts tell us almost nothing relevant to our question . Almost everyone also owned a dog for the same purposes . The Constitution nevertheless says nothing about the undeniable right to own a dog . There are uncountable numbers of rights not enumerated in the Constitution . These rights are neither denied nor disparaged by not being raised to the explicit constitutional level . All of them are constitutionally subject to regulation . The right to bear arms protected in the Second Amendment has to do directly with `` a well-regulated militia . '' More evidence of the connection can be found in the Militia Act of 1792 . `` Every free able-bodied white male citizen '' -LRB- it was 1792 , after all -RRB- was required by the act to `` enroll '' in the militia for training and active service in case of need . When reporting for service , every militiaman was required to provide a prescribed rifle or musket , and ammunition . Here we see the link of the private and public aspects of bearing arms . The expectation was that every man would have his own firearms . But the aspect that was raised to the level of constitutional concern was the public interest in those arms . What does this mean for the question of gun control today ? Well , for example , it means that Congress has the constitutional power to enact a Militia Act of 1992 , to require every person who owns a gun or aspires to own one to `` enroll '' in the militia . In plain 1990s English , if you want to own a gun , sign up with the National Guard . Requiring every gun owner to register with the National Guard -LRB- as we require 18-year-olds to register with the Selective Service -RRB- would provide the information about gun owners sought by the Brady and Staggers bills , and much more . Standards could be set for purchase or ownership of guns , and penalties could be established . Restoring a 200-year-old understanding of the Constitution may be difficult , but there is n't time to dawdle . Americans now own more than 200 million guns , and opinion polls show Americans want gun control . Why not avail ourselves of the Second Amendment remedy ? Call in the militia , which is , after all , `` composed of the body of the people . '' -- Mr. Goldwin is a resident scholar in constitutional studies at the American Enterprise Institute .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

gun control
constitutional amendment
gun owners
second amendment
congress
private right
arms


For that reason and others , the Constitutional Convention unanimously rejected term limits and the First Congress soundly defeated two subsequent term-limit proposals . Hamilton , who did not even support term limitations on the presidency , reasoned that imposing limits `` would be a diminution of the inducements to good behavior . '' Madison said that some members of Congress will `` by frequent re-elections , become members of long-standing ; will be thoroughly masters of the public business . '' In fact , that has been the case . Over the years , term limits would have unseated Daniel Webster and Henry Clay 10 years before they forged the 1850 Compromise that held the Union together . Term limits would have cost us Everett Dirksen , who rallied Republicans around early civil-rights bills and Florida 's own Claude Pepper , who long defended Social Security and Medicare against revenue raids . It was not the Federalists but their adversaries who clamored for term limits , perhaps because they were then out of power . Robert Livingston said it best at the New York convention to ratify the Constitution : `` The people are the best judges who ought to represent them . To dictate and control them , to tell them who they shall not elect , is to abridge their natural rights . '' T.K. Wetherel Speaker Florida House of Representatives Tallahassee , Fla. .

O O O O O O O B I O O B I O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O

term limits
term limitations
constitutional convention
first congress
natural rights

subsequent term-limit proposals
frequent re-elections


Another argument is that a citizen Congress with its continuing flow of fresh faces into Washington would result in better government than that provided by representatives with lengthy tenure . The counter-argument is that experience is an important characteristic for legislators . Each viewpoint has some validity . Presumably the best solution is to let the market decide , that is , to allow the electorate to determine the proper balance between freshness and experience . Most of us would not want the government to determine whether a familiar or a new brand of toothpaste is preferable ; why is a political representative different in this respect ? Many commentators bemoan the high tendency for incumbents to be re-elected . But if the electoral control process is working , so that officeholders conform with the interests of the majority of their constituents , then the electorate rewards its representatives with re-election . If the public voted against satisfactory performers just to install a new face , then officeholders would have less incentive to behave and the system would work badly . Thus the main inference from a 95 % re-election rate is that the political process is working and that officeholders are conforming to the wishes of their constituents . If we ever see a 50 % re-election rate , then there really would be reason to worry . The threat not to re-elect works only if the incumbent is interested in another term , whether for his current or for another office . A problem with term limits is that it creates more lame ducks , who are less responsive to the desires of the electorate . Much has been made of Alexander Hamilton 's reflections on this point in Federalist 72 : `` One ill effect of the exclusion -LCB- from re-election -RCB- would be a diminution of the inducements to good behavior . '' -LRB- It is interesting to note , however , that Hamilton was not discussing term limits on the legislature , and was actually arguing against the term limits on the chief executive that are contained now in the 22nd Amendment . -RRB- The only respectable argument in favor of term limits that I know of refers to the legislature and involves the interaction with the seniority system . Representatives accumulate more power as they become more senior , partly because of better committee assignments and more staff and partly because of increased familiarity with government officials and institutions and with outside interest groups . Some aspects of this power , such as greater experience with governmental programs , are desirable ; others , such as the increased ability to extract funds from interest groups , are not . Even if seniority is a net cost in the aggregate , however , each district has an incentive to re-elect its own incumbent -LRB- and would if possible vote against the incumbents from other districts -RRB- because the representative 's relative seniority translates into a large share of governmental largess . The voters would be better off if they could reach a binding agreement that precluded the re-election of incumbents , that is , if term limits were instituted . As an example , the voters of Washington state recently rejected a proposal that would have limited the seniority of their congressional representatives relative to those of other states . Yet the same voters likely would have approved a proposal that limited the terms of all Congressional representatives , not just those from Washington . Changes in the seniority system may therefore be a superior alternative to term limits . If a representative 's power to favor his or her district did not vary with seniority , then voters would not have an excessive incentive to re-elect incumbents . The seniority system could be changed only by getting Congress to alter its own rules -LRB- as it has at times in the past -RRB- or else by constitutional amendment , which would , from a practical standpoint , also have to initiate in Congress . Although the chances of success seem small , one way to proceed would be to call the proposal the Civil Rights Amendment -- recent experience shows that calling something a Civil Rights Act helps to get it passed . It does not seem to matter much -- it may even be detrimental -- if the content of a Civil Rights Act actually has something to do with civil rights . The weakening of the seniority system in Congress would , it must be conceded , sacrifice some genuine benefits . Greater experience may justify positions of more authority , and , the rewards from seniority give Congress an efficient method to motivate good behavior from junior members . These arguments parallel the benefits from worker seniority in firms -LRB- or , indeed , the usefulness of a parole system as a carrot to help control inmates in prisons -RRB- . The formal system of seniority is also only a part of the story ; members ' increasing familiarity with interest groups is a kind of seniority that would not be eliminated by changes in the rules for committee assignments , staffing and so on . It is unrealistic as well as undesirable to try to remove completely the operation of a seniority system in any legislature . The various complexities about legislative term limits and their interaction with seniority do not arise for executive term limits . Voters do not have to worry that rejecting their incumbent puts them at a disadvantage relative to other voters ' incumbents , so the electorate can properly weigh experience , fresh ideas , the value of rewarding satisfactory performance in office , and so on . The only defense for executive term limits is that the electorate needs to be protected against itself , an argument which , if true , would mean that democracy was seriously flawed and would work much less well than it seems to . Of course , since the passage of the 22nd Amendment in 1951 , there is a two-term limit on the presidency , and 29 of the 50 states have some kind of term limit on the governor . -LRB- Seven of these limits have been introduced since 1960 . -RRB- The origins of these limits may have more to do with competition between legislative and executive branches than with a desire to improve public policy . The 22nd Amendment reflected Congress 's desire to shift the balance of power away from the executive , and notably the desire of a Republican-dominated House and Senate to prevent the rise of another powerful Democratic president like Franklin Roosevelt . To some extent , the current pressures for legislative term limits reflect the reverse desire to shift power away from Congress . From the standpoint of balance of power , it would surely be preferable to repeal the 22nd Amendment . Perhaps the best test of executive term limits is to check whether the states with term limits on the governor have performed better or worse than those without such limits . The answer , if one holds constant geographical region and the level of per capita income in 1960 , is that states with term limits experienced slightly below average growth of per-capita income over the last 30 years but were also a little below average in the fraction of state product that went to state and local government expenditures . Not surprisingly , the main message is that executive term limits are not an important determinant of economic growth or state spending . Executive term limits are therefore a bad idea , but one should not expect vastly better performance at the state or national level from the elimination of these restrictions . Legislative term limits are less clear-cut and it is possible to build a respectable case that favors such limits . But it is unrealistic to think that the enactment of these limits would lead to great improvements in the functioning of government and hence , in the performance of the economy . -- Mr. Barro , a professor at Harvard , is a Wall Street Journal contributing editor .

O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

legislative term limits
executive term limits
citizen congress
officeholders
political process
constitutional amendment
civil rights amendment
political representative
electoral control process


Local news reporters quoted witnesses as saying that the plane appeared to nosedive into the earth . The crash comes at a particularly sensitive time for the travel industry . Although it has always been difficult to measure the effect of crashes on travel , this accident comes just as people were starting to get over fears of terrorism related to the Persian Gulf war . Airlines have been slashing their flight schedules and laying off employees because of the downturn . Some travel agencies have gone to four-day workweeks . Most of the travel sector has resorted to sharp discounting to spark travel . This , in fact , may have been one reason why the load on the United flight was light . The jet , which can hold at least 100 passengers , carried 20 passengers and a crew of two pilots and three flight attendants . Yesterday 's marks the third crash of a United jet in the past three years . In July 1988 , a United DC-10 crashed in Sioux City , Iowa , after an engine broke apart in flight , killing 112 people . In February 1989 , the cargo door on United Boeing 747 burst open near Hawaii , tearing a gaping hole in the fuselage . Nine passengers died . About two hours before yesterday 's crash , the National Weather Service in Colorado Springs issued its first high wind warning for the area since January , according to James Hall , a meteorological technician observer in Colorado Springs . Moments after the crash , the average wind speed was 23 miles per hour , gusting to 32 mph , Mr. Hall said . `` When it 's gusty like that , the conditions are quite choppy . It would be like a turbulent river current . It 's essentially like water hitting rocks and splashing and foaming over . '' A Federal Aviation Administration official said , `` There were some reports of gusting winds but whether or not that had any impact or whether there was any kind of mechanical problem , I ca n't speculate . '' Another FAA official said that although it is too early to pinpoint the cause , `` wind shear would be a major area of investigation . '' If preliminary reports that there was wind shear in the area are true , then `` that would indicate there was some instability in the atmosphere , '' he added . Wind shear is a sudden , violent shift in wind direction . It can smash an airplane into the ground . However , he said that wind shear is most dangerous when an aircraft is flying at a very low altitude , either shortly before landing or right after takeoff . In Sunday 's crash , the jetliner was a few miles from the airport and so should have been at a somewhat higher altitude . The last major U.S. wind shear accident occurred in Dallas in 1985 , when a Delta Air Lines jet crashed on approach . Since then , the FAA and the industry have revamped pilot training on wind shear and have devoted considerable resources to dealing with the hazard . No buildings or structures on the ground were damaged by the crash , according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Department . An eight-year-old girl who was playing nearby , was treated for a head injury and released . The jet involved in the crash is almost nine years old . It was delivered in May 1982 to now-defunct Frontier Airlines . United acquired the plane in June 1986 . The plane was operated by an engine manufactured by United Technologies Corp. 's Pratt & Whitney division . -- Brett Pulley in Chicago contributed to this article .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O B I I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

third crash
travel industry
united flight
colorado springs
first high wind warning


But the lesson that should not be lost is the transcendent one : Clarence Thomas made it in America because he was loved . His mother loved him . And when she could no longer care for him she gave him to her parents to bring up , and they loved him too . And they cared enough to scrape together the money every year to put him in a Catholic school where they hoped the nuns would teach and guide him and they did . He got love and love gave him pride and pride gave him confidence that he had a place at the table . This is something we in the age of the-family-that-is-not-a-family forget : the raw power of love and how it is the one essential element in the creation of functioning and successful people , and how its absence twists the psyche and the heart . -LRB- The children of the mother on crack are not consigned to lives of uselessness and pain because AFDC payments are low ; they are so consigned because crack has broken the maternal bond that brings with it caring and succor . -RRB- Lives like Judge Thomas 's remind us of this simple truth . -- It was once thought that to choose a conservative black for a high appointment put liberals in an uncomfortable position , but we will learn in the Thomas hearings that this is no longer so . Not that the hearings will be color blind , it 's just that senators are going to use Mr. Thomas 's race to prove things about themselves with it . Senators of the left will use him to prove they are not minority-whipped . They will demonstrate through measured abuse that they are able to treat a black man as their equal . Their ferocity , they will think , is proof of their sophistication , a compliment : `` Our party does n't patronize minorities . '' This will be cloud cover for their real intention , which is to serve the interests of the interest groups -- the pro-abortion lobby , the civil rights lobby , labor -- that control their careers . Some on the right will use Mr. Thomas 's race to demonstrate again that ours is the party of true racial progress , that not a trace of racism clogs the conservative heart . Expect an especially spirited defense from Jesse Helms . The left will be tough not only because Mr. Thomas represents ideological insult . Those on the left are unmoved by Mr. Thomas 's climb from nothing to something because he did n't do it the right way -- through them and with their programs . His triumph refutes their assumptions ; his life declares that a good man of whatever color can rise in this country without the active assistance of the state . This is a dangerous thing to assert in a highly politicized age . And to make it worse , Judge Thomas did n't `` make it on his own . '' He has been helped all his life by affirmative action , but the kind liberals do not see and can not accept : the uncoerced , unforced affirmative action that Americans tend to take when someone at a disadvantage -- race , physical disability -- needs help . When Mr. Thomas made his moving statement at Kennebunkport last week he thanked the people who had helped him along the way , including the nuns who taught him . -LRB- What a touching and old-fashioned thing to do . If Sandra Day O'Connor had thanked the nuns it would have been a skit on `` Saturday Night Live '' and an issue in her confirmation . -RRB- The nuns ' affirmative action for Clarence Thomas was the only effective , meaningful kind : the kind we perform for individuals , not because it is state-mandated but because it is right , not because we love a race but because we care for people and love our country . One strategy to be expected from Mr. Thomas 's opponents : deference and respect . Expect phrases of rolling sympathy as senators of the left bring up for him his humble origins and congratulate him on his grit and determination . Already I can see Joe Biden 's telegenic tick of a smile , the one he uses to show how civil he is in spite of his growing moral exasperation . He will celebrate Mr. Thomas 's gifts and use them against him . `` But what , Judge Thomas , about those who were not born with your advantages , and by that I mean not wealth and comfort but brilliance and determination and a family . What about those poor blacks not greatly gifted or guided -- what about them ? '' -- For Judge Thomas 's proponents , two great hopes : One is that the administration will hit America where it lives and go over the heads of the talking suits and straight to the people , presenting as witnesses on television the affirmative action crew that lifted a young boy with nothing to great heights -- the mother who was a maid , the grandmother who saved up the tuition and the nuns who helped open his eyes . The force of their presence will remind us that real change in a democracy comes from the people up , not from the government down . The second hope : that the administration will demonstrate moral confidence in its choice and not go into a defensive crouch . In 1980 , '84 and ' 88 , the American people voted overwhelmingly for presidents who promised to appoint conservative jurists . The left calls the Thomas appointment a hijacking , a right-wing coup for the court , but this is the opposite of the truth . Mr. Thomas 's appointment is not a traducing of the people 's will but a fulfillment of their directive . -- Miss Noonan is a writer in New York .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

clarence thomas
affirmative action
conservative black
judge thomas
thomas hearings
triumph
conservative jurists


Tiny Third World businesses commonly repay these `` microloans '' faithfully because they crave the security of a favorable credit rating . This rescues them from the clutches of loan sharks -- microloans typically charge the prevailing local commercial loan rate -- and lets them borrow again in hard times . The money helps them start or expand their businesses -- selling vegetables , sewing , repairing shoes , making furniture and the like -- and boosts their local economies . Their repayment performance shines when compared with that of many sovereign nations . It also looks good compared with a default rate of 17 % by U.S. recipients of federally guaranteed student loans . Though microlending has been around for years , it is now booming . With the decline of communism , U.S. development groups believe they are exporting free-market economics to tiny businesses that can fuel growth in the developing world . `` Micro-enterprise lending is the hottest thing in development since the Green Revolution . Everybody does it , '' says Accion International spokeswoman Gabriela Romanow . The Green Revolution sent farm output surging in many poor nations . Ms. Romanow cites the case of Aaron Aguilar , an unemployed factory worker in Monterrey , Mexico , who borrowed $ 100 to buy clay and glazes for making figurines with his wife in their back yard . In six years , the couple took out and repaid five loans and built their business to 18 full-time employees . Sometimes borrowers have to struggle against setbacks that might seem comical in the prosperous West . One group of women in Cameroon received $ 100 from New York agency Trickle Up to start a rabbit-breeding business , but the rabbit ate her offspring , recalls Mildred Leet , co-founder of the U.S. agency . Undaunted , the women switched to chickens and made enough money selling eggs to branch out into tomatoes and tailoring , ultimately opening two shops , Ms. Leet says . Some Third World commercial banks are taking note of poor entrepreneurs ' repayment rates . Accion persuaded family-owned Multi Credit Bank of Panama City , Panama , to start making microloans two months ago . Isaac Btesh , a director and son of the founder , says the bank has lent $ 80,000 to 100 people so far on 60-day , rotating lines of credit -- with a 100 % repayment rate . `` When we got in touch with Accion , we were incredulous , '' Mr. Btesh says . `` We could n't believe their figures . But everything they said is true . '' Poverty lending has such promise that Multi Credit plans to make it the bank 's number one activity , ahead of trade financing , consumer loans and merchant loans , the official adds . Accion , a Cambridge , Mass.-based nonprofit international development group and a leader in the U.S. microloan movement , says it plans to increase its microlending this year to $ 66.5 million from $ 37.8 million in 1990 and $ 9.8 million five years ago . It says it plans to add 64,000 new clients , up from 40,000 last year and 9,000 five years ago . Its average loan is $ 303 . Accion 's Ms. Romanow says the group , which serves Latin America , plans to expand the lending to a total of between $ 500 million and $ 1 billion over the next five years . The payback rate is 98 % . CARE , New York , perhaps the world 's largest private international-development group , says small economic-activity development -- primarily microlending -- is its fastest-growing portfolio . `` There 's energy and creativity out there , people bootstrapping who are n't waiting for the next handout , '' says Larry Frankel of CARE . Trickle Up , which makes thousands of $ 100 loans annually , says its budget rose to $ 1 million this year from $ 800,000 in 1989 after doubling almost every year throughout the 1980s . Trickle Up makes $ 100 loans in two installments of $ 50 each to small groups of individuals . `` We feel private enterprise is the way to help the poor , '' says Mrs. Leet , who founded Trickle Up with her husband in 1979 . The group started a program in China in 1989 and moved into Laos , Vietnam and Namibia last year . Betsy Campbell , economic-development manager of Westport , Conn.-based Save the Children , says her group underwent a shift in the 1980s `` from being primarily a charitable organization '' to being one oriented towards helping profit-making activities . She says microlending to individuals in 20 nations is rising sharply , with more than $ 3 million in circulation at the moment . Repayment rates in most nations exceed 90 % , she says . `` These people value access to credit so highly that default is n't really a problem , '' she says . Some Third World banks , notably in Asia , have been making microloans for years . Grameen Rural Bank of Bangladesh is considered a pioneer . However , most such banks were set up with state support specifically to target the poor . Not every charity group in the U.S. has joined the microloan bandwagon . The Christian Children 's Fund of Richmond , Va. , sticks to relief efforts and to person-to-person sponsorships , in which a U.S. donor makes regular payments to an impoverished Third World child , for example , while Africare House in Washington , D.C. , focuses on helping cooperatives improve food production and health care . Nor is the booming field of microlending without its detractors -- or its controversies . David Munro , an official with TechnoServe of Norwalk , Conn. , says he prefers to work `` on a larger scale , and I also do n't see -LCB- microlending -RCB- as passing on much in the way of skills . '' And officials at the U.S. Agency for International Development , which finances a big chunk of many private groups ' overseas operations , say they support the principle of expanding poverty lending but oppose congressional efforts to mandate minimum levels . AID has more than doubled its micro-enterprise budget , which includes microlending , training and other activities , to an estimated $ 114 million this year from $ 58 million in 1988 .

B I I I O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

microloans
favorable credit rating
repayment performance
tiny third world businesses
poverty lending


The lawsuit , which has been pending for nine months , arose out of two articles published by the Enquirer in June 1990 reporting on Miss Taylor 's condition and activities at St. John 's Hospital , Santa Monica , Calif. , where she was treated last spring for pneumonia . The Enquirer said that after gaining access to all of Miss Taylor 's medical records , it is satisfied that the articles reporting on the actress 's medical condition and the report that she was drinking were in error . The paper said it published the articles in good faith reliance on information provided to it , but the information was inaccurate . Iain Calder , Enquirer editor , said in a statement , `` we regret the inaccuracies in the articles but are pleased that this dispute has come to an amicable end . '' Miss Taylor said she feels `` completely vindicated , '' and that after the newspaper 's management determined the articles were in error , the Enquirer `` acted promptly and in good faith . '' Miss Taylor initially sought damages of $ 20 million in Los Angeles Superior Court , according to Neil Papiano , her attorney . Although Mr. Papiano would n't specify the size of the settlement , he said `` we were persuaded that it was certainly large enough that we should n't go to trial . '' As previously reported , G.P. Group Inc. , the Lantana , Fla. , publisher of the Enquirer and Star tabloids , plans to raise $ 350 million by offering 43 % of the firm in an initial public offering .

O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O B O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

miss taylor
actress
lawsuit
enquirer
pneumonia
medical condition


A police chief plays an essential role in setting the climate in which his department operates . Through the years Mr. Gates has made public statements clearly at odds with the new concept of community policing , in which officers work with citizens to improve neighborhoods and prevent crime . A few years ago Chief Gates referred to gang members as `` dirty little cowards , '' and warned them that `` there is resounding applause to every fall of the hammer . '' The exchange sounded more like one gang challenging another than a police chief seeking to reduce conflict in the community . Indeed the Rambo-like challenge did not lower violence , and may have increased it . Hundreds of gang homicides occur every year in Los Angeles despite sweeps by the city 's police . Mr. Gates would have been better advised to seek community programs for jobs , education , elimination of prejudice and improvement of neighborhoods . But this kind of reasoning is foreign to a man who publicly claimed that his SWAT team could free the Iranian hostages . Similarly , Mr. Gates vehemently opposed the Police Corps Program backed by other police chiefs . The Police Corps would send idealistic young people , including minorities , to serve a three -- or four -- year tour of duty after college graduation in return for federal funding of their educations . Mr. Gates opposed the Police Corps because its members would not be professionals . Yet the presence of such `` non-professionals '' would discourage the racism and brutality exposed by the Rodney King beating . Such attitudes survive only in a closed police culture . The presence of even one police corps officer witness would have deterred the criminal cops . Many chiefs openly disagreed with Mr. Gates when he opposed the Police Corps Bill in Congress . We should be as openly critical of his other statements . For example , Mr. Gates once said that blacks were more susceptible than `` normal people '' to chokeholds . More recently , he described the killer of a policewoman as an `` El Salvadoran , who should n't have been here . '' The nationality of the murderer was irrelevant . Mr. Gates 's statement did nothing to lessen the tragedy of the fallen officer , but like his statement about blacks , it gave comfort to bigots within and outside the department . And it hardly reduced conflict in a city where the majority of the population is made up of minorities who need and deserve police protection , whether or not they are citizens . Two years ago , on a national television documentary , Mr. Gates defended a special unit that had shot many criminals during stakeouts . The unit had advance knowledge that crimes were about to occur , but often stayed outside and let robberies occur , even though innocent retailers and customers were put at risk . The chief said that arresting the criminals before the robberies was n't a good idea because the courts were so lenient . The unit has been allowed to continue to operate despite its high shooting rate -- or , worse still , because of the shootings . Last year Los Angeles paid $ 3 million to 52 residents of an apartment complex ransacked by police . Mr. Gates reluctantly admitted that the officers who did the ransacking were wrong , but said he could understand their frustration in trying to fight drugs . Even more recently , Mr. Gates told the Senate that `` casual drug users should be taken out and shot . '' He assured the senators that he was not being facetious . And his initial reaction on television to the Rodney King brutality tapes was defensive . Mayor Tom Bradley told the media that such conduct would n't be tolerated , and that the wrongdoers would be sought out for punishment . Mr. Gates said that while he was shocked , he was n't drawing conclusions and would look into the `` background , '' of the incident . Presumably , the chief has now received wiser council . He has called for prosecution of three of the officers , and has produced a videotape for his troops condemning the beating . But condemnation of misconduct and excessive force should have been a constant message from the command staff before the brutality , and not an afterthought . Yet , it 's hard to imagine commanders preaching restraint in light of the chief 's constant belligerent pronouncements . Even Mr. Gates 's apology to Mr. King sent the wrong message . He said that he hoped the incident might help Mr. King to straighten out his life . It is hard to imagine someone unlawfully beaten by uniformed officers as others looked on being inspired to respect law and order . Or was the chief suggesting that the beating was a warning against further run-ins with the police ? Clearly , Daryl Gates 's words and actions create doubt about his claim that the Rodney King incident was an aberration . Public opinion polls in Los Angeles show the majority of people believe police brutality is common , and they disapprove of the way Mr. Gates has done his job . When he characterizes such opposition as cop-haters , he embitters his department and to some extent all police . Mr. Gates 's military style of policing is at odds with that in the rest of the country , and it 's about time police leaders publicly repudiated it . It is hard to see how the Los Angeles Police Department can regain credibility unless Daryl Gates 's leave becomes permanent . But the videotape of the LAPD brutality affects the credibility of all police officers . It has cast a cloud over policing that wo n't be lifted until police chiefs drop their own code of silence and speak out against one of their own 's peculiar philosophy of policing . -- Mr. McNamara is the police chief in San Jose . He comes from a family of policemen and has been one for 35 years .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

police brutality
rodney king incident
excessive force
lapd brutality
los angeles


-- `` I believe that society is now in a position to vigorously enforce equal rights for all Americans ... . But I believe in compensation for actual victims , not for people whose only claim to victimization is that they are members of a historically oppressed group . '' -- `` America should not fall into the trap of blaming all the problems faced by blacks or other minorities on others . We are not beggars or objects of charity . We do n't get smarter just because we sit next to white people in class , and we do n't progress just because society is ready with handouts . As a people , we need to find solutions to problems through independence , perseverance and integrity . As a society , we should develop better policies to deal with the underclass than the failed solutions of the past . '' While the views of President Bush 's first Supreme Court nominee , David Souter , were virtually unknown before his confirmation , the 43-year-old Mr. Thomas has boldly articulated his vision of constitutional law , both as a judge -- he now sits on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit , the nation 's second-highest bench -- and , before that , as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for eight years . `` Basically the job of a judge is to figure out what the law says , not what he wants it to say , '' Mr. Thomas told me . `` There is a difference between the role of a judge and that of a policy maker . -LCB- Judge Robert -RCB- Bork was right about that , no question . Judging requires a certain impartiality . '' At the same time , `` impartiality is not the same thing as indifference . This is n't law school speculation . When I hear a case , I know damn well that something is going to happen as a result of what I decide . People 's lives are affected . Sometimes a man 's life depends on the outcome . And these are people looking to me , to the judge , to figure out what 's just , to correctly apply the law . That 's not a responsibility I take lightly . No way . '' Many of Mr. Thomas 's critics have taken his unconcealed admiration for Ronald Reagan , his former boss , and Robert Bork , his predecessor on the D.C. Circuit , as evidence that Mr. Thomas shares their philosophy of jurisprudence . But in fact , a careful reading of his articles and speeches reveals a different sort of judicial conservatism . Writing in the Howard Law Journal in 1987 , Mr. Thomas argued for what he called a `` natural law '' or `` higher law '' mode of judging , in which the judge examines not only the text of the Constitution or statute but also the moral principles underlying the American form of government . Mr. Thomas maintains , with support from Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglass , that the Constitution must be read in the context of the principle of equality inherent in the Declaration of Independence . In a powerful speech Mr. Thomas gave on Martin Luther King Day three years ago , he defended certain forms of civil disobedience . King often quoted Thomas Aquinas 's statement , `` An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law . '' Part of King 's legacy , for Mr. Thomas , is his reflection on the close connection between law and morality . President Bush 's nominee understands the hostility he is likely to face in Congress . `` When you 're up before those confirmation hearings , it 's like going through Dante 's Inferno ... . I 've seen a glimpse of that process . When you get up there , you just hope that you do n't get destroyed so that even if you do n't make it , you can go on with your life . '' Mr. Thomas is likely to be a very different kind of judge from the man he is replacing . When reminded of Thurgood Marshall 's comment that he could not wholeheartedly celebrate the bicentennial of the American founding because the Constitution permitted slavery , Mr. Thomas shook his head . `` I have felt the pain of racism as much as anyone else , '' Mr. Thomas says passionately . `` Yet I am wild about the Constitution and about the Declaration . Abraham Lincoln once said that the American founders declared the right of equality whose enforcement would follow as soon as circumstances permitted . The more I learn about the ideals of those men , the more enthusiastic I get ... . I believe in the American proposition , the American dream , because I 've seen it in my own life . '' Mr. Thomas 's life is a remarkable story . Born in a small frame house on the outskirts of Savannah , Ga. , in 1948 , Mr. Thomas endured all the hardships of the segregated South . His father left before he could walk , and his mother worked as a housemaid and picked crabs from the marsh to eat and sell . The family shared a single outhouse with several neighbors . In the summer of 1955 , Clarence Thomas and his brother went to live with their maternal grandparents , who owned an ice delivery and fuel oil business . It is here , under the stern tutelage of his grandfather , Myers Anderson , that Mr. Thomas locates the beginning of his true education . `` My grandfather has been the greatest single influence on my life , '' he claims . In 1987 he told the Atlantic , `` When the civil rights people indict me , the man they are indicting is that man . Let them call him from the grave and indict him . '' As Mr. Thomas remembers , his grandfather believed that `` Man ai n't got no business on relief as long as he can work . Damn welfare , that relief -RSB- '' At home the Thomas boys worked six hours a day in addition to school : raising the chickens , pigs and cows ; cleaning the house and the yard ; painting , roofing , plumbing and fixing ; maintaining the oil trucks and making deliveries . These lessons of hard work , personal dignity and self-sufficiency were reinforced through years of Catholic school and college . He finished his undergraduate studies at Holy Cross College in Worcester , Mass. `` That 's where I started to get political and radical , '' Mr. Thomas recalls . `` I read Malcolm X. I became interested in the Black Panthers . '' In 1971 he founded the Black Student Union at Holy Cross . He went on to Yale Law School , where he worked summers at New Haven Legal Assistance , continuing what he calls `` my political consciousness raising . '' Nevertheless , `` I never gave up my grandfather 's ideals , and when my left-wing opinions began to clash with those ideals , I began to move away from the left . '' Eventually he took a job with Missouri Attorney General -LRB- now Senator -RRB- John Danforth because `` he promised to treat me like anyone else . He promised to ignore the hell out of me . '' At a conference of black conservatives in San Francisco , Calif. , Mr. Thomas 's eloquent departures from the civil rights orthodoxy on quotas and government handouts greatly impressed the newly installed Reagan administration , and in 1981 he was nominated to be assistant secretary for civil rights in the Department of Education . The next year he was promoted to the top job of the EEOC . Under the Carter administration , the agency had zealously promoted numerical goals and timetables . `` Thomas came in , and he rejected all that , '' remarks William Robinson , dean of the District of Columbia School of Law . Mr. Thomas had his skirmishes with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights , an umbrella group instrumental in defeating the Bork nomination , and he made a dangerous enemy in the American Association of Retired Persons , which accused him of letting legal protections for the elderly lapse . When he was nominated to the D.C. Circuit in late 1989 , a number of these special interest groups prepared for a bloodbath . But the storm clouds melted away and Mr. Thomas was approved by the Senate Judiciary with a 12-1 majority . The full Senate seated him with only two senators opposed . The reason for the smooth passage , EEOC vice chairman Ricky Silber man -LRB- whose husband Laurence Silberman sits on the D.C. Circuit with Mr. Thomas and is his closest friend on the bench -RRB- thinks , is that `` Clarence has an amazing ability to neutralize opposition . Just as in his life , he turns negative values into positive values , an amazing feat . '' Can Clarence Thomas be confirmed to the Supreme Court ? Even liberal judges will go on record praising Mr. Thomas . `` If I or a member of my family were in trouble , he is the kind of person I 'd like to appear before , '' Judge Damon Keith , a Carter appointee on the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Detroit said in an interview . `` Our judicial philosophy may not be the same , but he is a bright and reflective man who believes passionately in fairness . I say this without reservation , and in full knowledge of all the people who complain about him . '' Dean Robinson added , `` People often confuse what Clarence thinks with what some of his friends on the right think , but Clarence is his own man . '' While at the EEOC , Mr. Thomas gave speeches accusing the Republican Party of `` blatant indifference '' toward black voters , and chastised Ronald Reagan in particular for letting Bob Jones University get away with racial discrimination , and for `` foot dragging '' on the Voting Rights Act extension . Mr. Thomas and his wife Virginia live in Northern Virginia with Jamal , Mr. Thomas 's son from a previous marriage . Some weeks before word of the nomination came , Mr. Thomas confessed to being slightly bemused by all the attention being paid to him by scholars and courtwatchers . `` The problem for my opponents , and for my friends , is that I do n't think I fit any of these molds very well . Once people figure this out , maybe they 'll leave me alone . '' -- Mr. D'Souza , a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute , is the author of `` Illiberal Education : The Politics of Race and Sex on Campus '' -LRB- Free Press/Macmillan , 1991 -RRB- .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

clarence thomas
supreme court nominee
minorities
judge
columbia circuit
judicial conservatism


Yesterday , with a tenuous peace settling over Slovenia , the exchange panicked . Slovenia bonds slumped . No one touched the stocks . The foreign exchange rights went begging . `` There is a certain logic to this , '' says Drasko Veselinovic , the exchange 's chief executive . `` Slovenes are now beginning to see the costs of independence more clearly than when we were at war . '' The two million people of this picturesque Alpine republic are waking up from their two-week nightmare sobered by the implications of their intoxicating declaration of secession from Yugoslavia on June 25 . Their bravado is undiminished , reflected in the almost unanimous feeling that there can be no going back now that blood has been spilled in defense of independence . But there is also a growing unease about going forward , because no one knows where Slovenia is headed . For the moment , the Slovenes are feeling lonely , unrecognized by the nations of the world . Their considerable trade with the rest of Yugoslavia , which helped make them the country 's richest people , is vanishing . Their identity is being turned upside down ; once known as Yugoslavia 's `` developed north , '' Slovenia will now be lumped together with Western Europe 's `` underdeveloped south . '' Nationalism overshadows pragmatism , a quality that once distinguished Slovenia from the rest of the often bewildering Balkans . `` We 've decided to be our own country , '' says Mr. Veselinovic , `` but we really do n't know how we will execute it . '' The Balkanization of this Balkan country has also become Europe 's worst nightmare . Almost every country on the continent has its own disenchanted minorities , from the Soviet Baltics to French Corsica , that could be encouraged by the independence declarations of Slovenia and the neighboring republic of Croatia . Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has held up recent events here -- the Yugoslav army assault on Slovenia and the bitter ethnic clashes between Croats and Serbs -- as a warning to his land of what can happen when nationalism fractures a country . While the European Community is counting on the peace plan it brokered to defuse tensions -LRB- it calls for a three-month period of negotiations in Yugoslavia -RRB- , most governments concede that the country 's breakup is inevitable . But the West Europeans also are wary of moving toward recognition of the various pieces . `` We have every sympathy for small peoples who aspire to affirm their national identity by democratic methods , '' the Swiss foreign minister reportedly told a European conference on national minorities . `` But that does n't mean we can accept the unilateral alteration of frontiers . '' This shunning by Western Europe , and the U.S. , is particularly disillusioning for a people who enjoy their BMWs , Peugeots and Fiats , their shopping trips to Munich and Venice and their vacation chalets in the Alps . The Slovenes , from their days in the Austro-Hungarian empire , have always considered themselves to be Westerners . Nestled between the Alps and the Adriatic , Slovenia became the most prosperous patch of communist Europe . The per capita annual income of nearly $ 7,000 is 10 times that of the southern regions of Yugoslavia . But as Slovenes measure themselves with Western Europe , it is they who are the poorer cousins . Joze Mencinger , an economist and former finance minister of Slovenia , illustrates the republic 's economic resilience by noting that while Yugoslavia 's industrial output fell 18 % so far this year , Slovenia 's declined only 10 % . When reminded by a visitor that Austria , in contrast , is posting robust growth , he grows somber . `` Okay , we must realize that we will be the less-developed part of Europe , '' he says . `` Unfortunately , in times of transition like this , people 's expectations are often wrong . Everybody expected that we could become Austria and Switzerland overnight . '' Over a decade might even be too soon . Slovenia 's exports of assembled cars , pharmaceuticals , refrigerators and furniture account for a third of the total value of the goods and services it produces . But Slovene economists reckon that exports would have to double to match the performance of other small European countries . Slovenia is counting on expanding its already extensive ties with Austria -LRB- a joint venture between Austrian and Slovene companies recently completed a high-tech Alpine tunnel opening another border crossing -RRB- as well as courting more business with its other old Austro-Hungarian partners , Czechoslovakia and Hungary . But what Slovenes dream of is one day being admitted to the EC . `` It 's not size that makes a country successful , '' says Josip Skoberne , head of the international division of the Slovene Chamber of Economy , citing EC-member Luxembourg , far smaller in population and area than Slovenia . `` It 's your ability to engage in international trade that makes you viable . '' Finding new markets in the West is all the more urgent with the certain decline in Slovenia 's trade with the rest of Yugoslavia . A quarter of all goods produced in Slovenia are purchased by other Yugoslavs , and Slovene leaders counted on maintaining these ties even after declaring independence . But the recent fighting , they believe , ended all hope of economic union . `` Unbelievable , '' scoffs Mr. Skoberne as he reads a letter telefaxed from the council of Banja Luka , a town with a large Serbian population in the province of Bosnia-Hercegovina , decreeing that all Slovene-owned assets in the city are to be inventoried and frozen . One of the major motivations behind Slovenia 's independence grab was to free itself from the `` Yugoslav risk '' that hampered most attempts to attract foreign investment . Now , Mr. Skoberne and others worry about an emerging `` Slovene risk . '' At the stock exchange , Mr. Veselinovic frets that his post-independence plans to trade in gold , commodities and foreign currencies are jeopardized by the uncertainty engulfing Slovenia . `` We had been getting a lot of interest from abroad , but they wo n't invest now while things are so unsettled , '' he says . `` But this is only logical . I would n't do it , either . ''

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

slovenia bonds
yugoslavia
independence declarations
european community
industrial output
national identity
slovene risk


But as Mr. Hart summarized their findings , the discussion quickly centered on the dismay and disgust many voters feel about politics and government these days . The reaction in the room was one of `` deep depression , '' according to one participant . Another described it as `` combustible . '' The Hart-Bailey report found the public `` downbeat '' about the way the country is going , convinced that Washington politicians are `` more concerned with political self-preservation '' than with the public good . Average citizens , the pollsters found , believe they `` simply are not being heard in Washington , '' and more and more are losing confidence in the electoral system as a means of influencing government . Accordingly , these politicians may be in real trouble this year . The 1990 election offered some early warning signs . True , 96 % of all incumbents were re-elected . But a few days after the election , political analyst Alan Baron offered a revelation : For the first time since World War II the average re-election margin of House incumbents from both parties declined from the previous election . Normally , when Republicans have a good year , Democrats ' average victory margin declines , and vice versa . But in 1990 , voters declared a plague on both parties ' houses , underscoring what polls and other focus groups demonstrate : The disaffection with politicians is n't ideological . Voters do n't want more conservative or more liberal representation ; they want more responsive representation . This helps explain the strong momentum for limiting lawmakers ' terms , a sentiment fueled by the recent disclosures of the House banking and restaurant fiascos . Term limits would accomplish few of their proponents ' goals -- more-independentminded and less-beholden lawmakers -- and would result in many unintended consequences-far more power accruing to unelected staff and special-interest lobbyists . But that 's of little concern to frustrated voters who are lashing out because nothing else seems to work . Plainly , Congress can best address this frustration by doing a better job on the issues bothering people-health care , taxes , jobs . But there 's little consensus among either politicians or the voters themselves on these issues . So progress will be slow . Congress can make some symbolic moves , however . It can eliminate its more indefensible perquisites , such as the free prescription drugs . More important , lawmakers ought to overhaul the disgraceful campaign-finance system to make congressional elections more competitive , and to reduce the role of money and influence peddlers in campaigns . Granted , incumbents have little incentive to work against their narrow self-interest . But the threat of term limits or of electoral defeat focuses even the narrowly self-interested mind . But there also have to be more fundamental changes in Congress 's cozy arrangements . The nexus of many of the problems -- entrenched arrogance , more concern for powerful interests than average citizens and the obscene preoccupation with campaign contributions -- is the committee system . A powerful antidote would be to limit committee service , which would have few of the political and constitutional drawbacks of term limits . The case is well articulated by two of the most experienced congressional observers : Richard Fenno , a University of Rochester political scientist and author of numerous books on Congress , and Charles Ferris , an attorney who served as chief counsel to both former Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield and former House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill . While both men are deeply dismayed at the current state of Congress , they see term limits as a cure worse than the illness . `` Term limits really hit at democracy , '' says Prof. Fenno . Argues Mr. Ferris : `` Voters never should be prevented from electing a person who they think is the best representative of that community . '' But they see a lot of virtue in limiting committee assignments . `` This really would challenge these guys to shake up the system , '' says Mr. Fenno , noting that the power of interest groups is centered in committees . Mr. Ferris believes this would `` put a vitality in the system '' while not resulting , unlike overall term limits , in `` a bunch of neophytes who 'd be more dependent on staff and lobbyists . '' Mr. Ferris notes that the current system , in which a lawmaker gets a cherished committee assignment in his first or second term and then stays there for the rest of his tenure , breeds staleness . `` Technology and economics and world dynamics are moving so quickly , but many of these members , while very bright , are locked into outdated beliefs and approaches , '' he says . If lawmakers had to change areas of expertise every three or four terms , `` they would n't have the luxury of being intellectually lazy . '' Currently , the Intelligence committees in both houses and the House Budget Committee limit members to six or eight years . Why should n't the Commerce committees and the tax-writing and appropriations panels be subjected to the same limits ? Any loss of legislative expertise would be more than offset by new ideas , new receptivity -- new thinking . There 'd be one other incalculable benefit . This would drive the lobbyists crazy . -- Mr. Hunt is the Journal 's Washington bureau chief .

O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O

term limits
electoral system
house incumbents
congressional elections
average victory margin
washington politicians
limiting committee assignments

special-interest lobbyists
average re-election margin


When his owner died in 1846 , Scott sued in the state courts of Missouri for his freedom , on the ground that he had lived in free territory . He won his case , but it was reversed in the Missouri Supreme Court . Scott appealed to the federal courts , since the person he was actually suing , John Sanford , the executor of the estate that owned Scott , lived in New York . It was in that setting that Chief Justice Taney made his infamous rulings : 1 . That black people , whether free or slave , were not citizens of the U.S. ; therefore , they had no standing in court . 2 . Scott was denied freedom . 3 . The Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional . Well known to most students of race relations is the former attorney general and secretary of the Treasury 's pre-civil war dictum that black people `` being of an inferior order '' had `` no right which any white man was bound to respect . '' Much less known are his equally racist pronouncements denying black people , whether slave or free , specific constitutional protections enjoyed by whites . In Dred Scott Chief Justice Taney , writing for the court 's majority , stated that if blacks were `` entitled to the privileges and immunities of citizens , ... -LCB- i -RCB- t would give persons of the negro race , who were recognized as citizens in any one state of the union , the right ... to keep and carry arms wherever they went . And all of this would be done in the face of the subject race of the same color , both free and slaves , and inevitably producing discontent and insubordination among them , and endangering the peace and safety of the state ... '' Although much of Justice Taney 's overtly racist legal reasoning was repudiated by events that followed -- such as the Civil War and Reconstruction -- the subliminal effects were felt throughout that era . In the post-Reconstruction period , when the pendulum swung back to overt racism , Justice Taney 's philosophy resurfaced . It was during this period that racial paranoia about black men with guns intensified . It was potent enough to cause the infringement on the Second Amendment to the Constitution 's `` right ... to keep and bear arms . '' Under natural law , a freeman 's right to obtain and maintain the implements of self-defense has always been sacred . This right was restricted or prohibited for serfs , peasants and slaves . Gun control was never an issue in America until after the Civil War when black slaves were freed . It was this change in the status of the black man , from slave to freeman , that caused racist elements in the country -LRB- North and South -RRB- to agitate for restrictions on guns -- ignoring long established customs and understanding of the Second Amendment . The specter of a black man with rights of a freeman , bearing arms , was too much for the early heirs of Roger Taney to bear . The 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution , along with the various Reconstruction civil rights acts , prevented gun prohibitionists from making laws that were explicitly racist and that would overtly deny black people the right to bear arms . The end of Reconstruction signaled the return of Taneyism -- overtly among the masses and covertly on the Supreme Court . Gun-control legislation of the late 19th and early 20th centuries , enacted at the state and local levels , were implicitly racist in conception . And in operation , those laws invidiously targeted blacks . With the influx of large numbers of Irish , Italian and Jewish immigrants into the country , gun laws now also targeted whites from the underprivileged classes of immigrants . Eventually these oppressive gun laws were extended to affect all but a privileged few . Throughout the history of New York state 's Sullivan law , enacted at the start of the 20th century , mainly the rich and powerful have had easy access to licenses to carry handguns . Some of the notables who have received that privilege include Eleanor Roosevelt , John Lindsay , Donald Trump , Arthur Sulzberger , Joan Rivers and disk jockey Howard Stern . Of the 27,000 handgun carry permits in New York City , fewer than 2 % are issued to blacks -- who live and work in high-crime areas and really are in need of protection . And what of the origins of the National Rifle Association , which is wrongly viewed as a racist organization by the black supporters of gun prohibition ? It was inspired and organized by Union Army officers after the Civil War . -- Mr. Innis is national chairman of the New York-based Congress of Racial Equality .

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gun control
second amendment
racial paranoia
dred scott
infamous rulings
black people