Ok, so it's only moot court but welcome to California. But hey, at least they don't want to take them away!
MOOT COURT MULLS THE HYPOTHETICALTracking devices, national security topics of discussion
By ANDRE BRISCOE
Herald Staff Writer
Is it reasonable for the United States government to implant a tracking device under the skin of a person who owns an assault weapon for the sake of national security? Can the government outlaw some weapons in order to protect the public safety in a post-Sept. 11 world?
That was the topic of discussion at the Monterey College of Law's 20th annual Heisler Moot Court competition at the World Theater at CSU-Monterey Bay on Friday night.
Friday marked the first time in the college's 20 years of moot court competition that the issue of privacy has been raised.
Students working in teams of two presented the case before Justice Arthur Gilbert of the 2nd District Court of Appeal, 6th District Court of Appeal Justice Wendy Clark Duffy, and retired Monterey County Judge Richard M. Silver.
The fictional law at issue Friday allowed the purchase of assault weapons but required that buyers must have an implanted microchip implanted not only in the weapon, but under the gun owner's skin.
According to the hypothetical, the two chips combined would allow the Department of Homeland Security to monitor movement of the owner and the weapon.
Lynn Maddock and Eric Fonferek, law school students "representing" the "National Gun Association," argued their case first. Maddock said the law was unconstitutional because it violated the right "to keep and bear arms" under the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
"Gun ownership in the United States is a traditional liberty," Maddock told the panel. She argued that the guns could be used for a variety of reasons, including as collector's items.
Fonferek argued that the American people had a right to privacy and that several amendments within the Constitution create a "zone of privacy" for Americans.
"Putting the chip in the weapon is one thing," said Silver. "But the question is, is the government going too far in putting the chip in the individual as well as the weapon? Where do we draw the line?"
Gilbert elaborated on the question.
"What about the ability of the government to track a person away from the weapon?" he said.
Arguing for the government were Judith Derenzo and John Maddock. Derenzo argued that the Second Amendment does not give a person the right to have a weapon, especially an assault weapon with the power to kill numbers of people and can be used by terrorists to inflict tremendous harm.
Maddock, who is Lynn Maddock's husband, said that today's climate outweighed right-to-privacy claims by the National Gun Association.