Constitution

As a self-proclaimed expert on the U.S. Constitution, Institute on the Constitution co-founder Michael Petroutka would be advised to pay more attention to the document itself, and to high school civics ("Getting back to the country's founders," March 21). For example, our laws against murder are due not to any prohibition in the Constitution (the document does not mention murder) nor to divine moral authority, but to laws enacted by the duly-elected representatives of the people as specified in the federal and state Constitutions.

If the Supreme Court has to decide whether it is constitutional for the states or the federal government to force people to buy health insurance, why doesn't it also have to decide whether it's constitutional to force taxpayers to pay to cover the uninsured? Charles H. Webster

WASHINGTON - In order to understand the stakes of the Supreme Court nomination hearings this week, one need look no further than New Orleans. Because by now it should be clear that all of the unforgivable death and destruction there had an obvious cause: the Constitution. You hadn't heard? Here's The Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said one reason federal assets were not used more quickly was `because our constitutional system really places the primary authority in each state with the governor.

Reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, a TV news program showed video of the U.S. flag, flapping atop its pole at the Capitol. It had been torn nearly lengthwise twice. Besides on public grounds, the flag is prominently displayed by businesses and on private property by homeowners often, too, regardless of the weather. Inconvenience, disinterest or obliviousness is probably why. As for the one at the Capitol, it is ignored, along with the Constitution it represents.

There was barely a whisper about God during a Carroll County-sponsored seminar Friday on the state constitution. The speaker was introduced as Pastor David Whitney to an audience of about 50 county employees in a lecture hall at Carroll Community College, but he made no attempt to proselytize. "I am honored to be with people who care about their country," said Whitney, the pastor of a Pasadena church who frequently lectures for the Institute on the Constitution. "I commend the county commissioners for having the foresight to offer you an opportunity to study the supreme law of the state.

A country's constitution is its platform of ideals. Some countries live up to those lofty goals, others cynically and brazenly violate the spirit and letter of their basic law. The most glaring example of the latter is the 1936 Soviet constitution. It presented a framework for a caring human-rights society at a time when Stalin's executioners were in the midst of one of the bloodiest purges in history.President Boris N. Yeltsin is now proposing a constitution for his country that would erase the much-amended Soviet-era document.

James Lefter's letter ( "Tea party wants to destroy USA to 'save' it" July 22) quotes Section 5 of Amendment XIV of the Constitution: "The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article. " This is in regard to the U.S. government's obligation to pay its bills and the necessity of raising the nation's debt ceiling. But Mr. Lefter's argument, that the key word of Section 5 is "enforce," falls flat. The liberal brown shirts want all U.S. citizens to be brought to heel by the federal government.

I'm having a hard time understanding, "taking guns out of the hands of those who have a mental problem. " Anyone who would shoot someone has a mental problem, and if there wasn't any indication of any prior behavior, who's to know? Personally, I would abolish all guns except hunting rifles and shot guns. Are we still living in the days of cowboys and Indians that we need to protect our homes? Of all the people who have a gun in there home, are they really frightful of someone breaking in?

The state of Maryland requires me to get a license to go fishing in the Patapsco River or crabbing off Booby Point or hunting at Elk Neck. To drive a car, I am required to have a license - and the first time, I needed to pass a test to get one. I must register with my local board of elections to vote. But requiring me to get a license to purchase a gun is asking too much? Requiring me to undergo a background check, provide my fingerprints and take a gun-safety course would "trample on" my Second Amendment rights?

In 1776, there were an estimated 2.5 million folks living in the New Colonies. Today, there are 311 million individuals who must be included when we consider their needs and make laws. How is it that the Baltimore Sun editorial staff, the media, our politicians, experts and even the president rarely, if ever, addresses this profound condition? Population growth and its problems should be the first factor in any national logistics planning. Furthermore, do we have confidence that the framers of the Constitution could see into the future?