[Vision2020] Firearms - Dangerous or Useful?

Saundra Lund sslund at roadrunner.com
Fri Aug 3 12:53:12 PDT 2007


Hi Ted,

Thanks for those links!

I don't mean to intrude into the discussion, but it's interesting to me that
those in power who wanted to limit -- and were successful for many years --
*true* religious freedom for adults were -- and are -- the majority religion
in this country.  Far too many of those who unceasingly scream about freedom
of religion really only care about it as long as that "freedom" mirrors
*their* beliefs.

You wrote:
"Applying religious freedom consistently is a very thorny issue that will
challenge anyones ideas of how the law should control peoples lifestyles,
especially when the lifestyles in question are well outside the normative
range of a given society."

Yuppers -- ain't that the truth!


JMHO,
Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
- Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2007 through life plus
70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside
the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the
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-----Original Message-----
From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com]
On Behalf Of Ted Moffett
Sent: Friday, August 03, 2007 2:09 AM
To: Joe Campbell
Cc: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Firearms - Dangerous or Useful?

Joe wrote:

 

	 Few people
	think that freedom of religion alone allows them to
	formulate Rastafarian churches so that they can pass 
	out joints to their friends. (Apologies to any
	Rastafarians in the audience.)

 
Peyote, a far more powerful plant than cannabis in its effects, is now legal
for Native American religious use.  It had previously been illegal, even for
Native Americans, but note the information below giving 1994 as the date
this changed, passing both the US House and Senate. So religious freedom has
been used as a basis for allowing the religious use of otherwise strictly
controlled substances: 
 
http://www.lectlaw.com/files/drg25.htm
 
And with a bit of research, guess what I found?  Cannabis use for religious
purposes by Rastafarian's addressed in the U S Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit:
 
http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/news/rfra_rasta.htm
 
After litigating the case for more than ten years, the Ninth Circuit ruled
on Tuesday that while the Religious Freedom Restoration Act might protect
some Rastafarians who possess or smoke marijuana as part of their religious
practices, it does not protect the importation of marijuana, even if that
marijuana was intended for religious use. According to the Ninth Circuit,
while the practice of Rastafarianism sanctions the smoking of marijuana,
nowhere does the religion sanction the importation of marijuana.  
-------
And note this interesting policy from Hawaii regarding how police address
claims of cannabis use for religious purposes:
 
http://www.thc-ministry.org/hawaiipolicerulesreligioususes.html#IX
 
INVESTIGATIONS INVOLVING THE MEDICAL
AND RELIGIOUS USE OF MARIJUANA
PAGE 6
C. The police shall not decide whether the suspect's claimed religion is a
recognized religion
<http://www.thc-ministry.org/ReligionOfJesusChurchBonaFide.html>  within the
meaning of the First Amendment and not just a belief, as this is a legal
question reserved for the courts.
<http://www.thc-ministry.org/Court_stipulation.jpg>
D. The police shall not decide whether the suspect has satisified the legal
requirements espoused in State v. Blake, 5 Haw. App. 411
<http://www.thc-ministry.org/BLAKE> , 695 P.2d 336 (1985), since these are
legal questions with respect to the determination of fact and burden of
proof, specifically reserved for the courts.
<http://www.thc-ministry.org/Court_stipulation.jpg>
---------
 
It seems every day I discover the world is not what I thought it was...
 
Applying religious freedom consistently is a very thorny issue that will
challenge anyones ideas of how the law should control peoples lifestyles,
especially when the lifestyles in question are well outside the normative
range of a given society. 
 
Ted Moffett
 

 





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