ELAINE HARRIS SPEARMAN: Anyone touting 'constitutional right to vote' amid gun talk?

Just about anybody that you speak with remembers Kermit the Frog’s lament. “It's not easy being green.”

It is not easy, nor does it bring any sense of contentment or hope, to write about a majority of the members of the Alabama Legislature.

Yes, I do realize there are many people who support the members and the legislation they pass. There are also a great many people who do not support their legislative agenda.

I think the “constitutional carry” legislation is one of the worst pieces of legislation to ever see the light of day. The premise of the gun bill was clearly stated by an activist with the National Association for Gun Rights. D.J. Parten said, “If someone can legally possess a firearm, they should be able to carry that firearm without being forced to pay a fee or get a government permit.”

There are many sheriffs in Alabama who back “constitutional carry” and are not concerned about the loss of the permit fee. There are others who are concerned that ending the permit requirement will be a serious blow to sheriff’s budgets across the state.

Some claim the real beef is “having to pay to exercise a constitutional right.”

One lone Republican to speak out against the bill, Rep. Allen Farley, R-McCalla, said, “The sheriffs use this (money) for school resource officers, patrol officers, radios, computers, cars, automatic defibrillators, extradition of felons from other states, DARE programs and children’s advocacy.”

The first thing we can start with is to decline to call carrying a gun without a permit a “constitutional carry.” The Second Amendment to the Constitution states, “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.” (Ratified 1791)

The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights because they lay out Americans’ fundamental rights and freedoms. The Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, which were ratified after the Civil War ended, changed America’s history. Slavery was ended, civil rights were affirmed and the right to vote was extended.

Now it is obvious that the amendments are cherry picked by those who have questionable motives.

When is the last time you have heard of any legislature giving a rallying cry to a “constitutional right to vote?” You are, in fact, seeing superhuman effort being put forth in states across this country to curtail that right.

There are a great many things that are government regulated, with the issuance of permits. The greatest interest is the health, safety and welfare of every citizen of the United States. As a concealed carry permit holder, I heartily support the issuance of permits for people who own or have access to an instrument that is designed to hurt or harm another human being.

The permit process, with a background check, attempts to provide some assurance regarding the permitee, although nothing is guaranteed.

Shootings and gun deaths are on the rise. It is not always the bad guys who are killed. We are witnessing innocent women and children being murdered by gunshots. Most law-abiding citizens who possess a gun have no issue with the permit process. Permitless carry will increase the number of guns on the streets carried by people who do not intend to be accountable.

Gun violence is assailing every community across the country. Let’s face it. A great deal of gun violence is found either within the African American community, or in places such as shopping malls or on public streets, with African American shooters. This is not to ignore “Walmart shooters,” or those who travel distances to rallies to maim and kill; those who invade schools and churches killing innocent people; and those who kill all or part of their families.

All of these acts of violence make the entire community unsafe. The first response is always that parents bear a great deal of responsibility regarding their offspring’s behavior. I have in fact met a parent who has dealt with serious gun violence, who gave the young man a curfew that was more that reasonable and advised him that if he did not abide by it, stay where he was.

Many young people do not have that kind of guidance. So, what is the community responsibility to address the violence that disturbs us all? What is the root cause of violent acts?

Law enforcement has a vested interest in curbing gun violence. With limited forces and budgets, senseless shootings strain resources that could otherwise be deployed.

I would daresay communities across Alabama are faced with escalating gun violence, and the new gun legislation does nothing to help the situation.

As many of these communities look at electing new mayors, presumably they have an interest in making their cities safer and more livable.

Perhaps one step could be a violence summit comprised of church and local community leaders, educators, council members from most affected districts, law enforcement and others to develop concrete solutions after exploring why disputes or disagreements must end with gunfire.

Elaine Harris Spearman, Esq., a Gadsden native, is an attorney and is the retired legal advisor to the comptroller of the City of St. Louis. The opinions reflected are her own.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Constitutional carry a bad move