We cannot defend ourselves?
John Doe
thugs and that we continue to be threatened by thugs... Because
political correctness is in full bloom here in the United States and
women generally suck at self-defense?
The British too.
The best defense is to kill all of our enemies before they can
threaten us, since self-defense would go against our politically
correct beliefs, or because we have forgotten how to defend
ourselves...
John Doe
From the July 2009 supreme court justice nominee Sonia Sotomayor
hearings. She was questioned by senator Tom Coburn about
self-defense...
COBURN: Thank you. Let me follow up with one other question. As a
citizen of this country, do you believe innately in my ability to
have self-defense of myself -- personal self-defense? Do I have a
right to personal self-defense?
SOTOMAYOR: I'm trying to think if I remember a case where the
Supreme Court has addressed that particular question. Is there a
constitutional right to self-defense? And I can't think of one. I
could be wrong, but I can't think of one.
SOTOMAYOR: Generally, as I understand, most criminal law statutes
are passed by states. And I'm also trying to think if there's any
federal law that includes a self-defense provision or not. I just
can't. What I was attempting to explain is that the issue of self-
defense is usually defined in criminal statutes by the state's
laws. And I would think, although I haven't studied the -- all of
the state's laws, I'm intimately familiar with New York.
COBURN: But do you have an opinion, or can you give me your
opinion, of whether or not in this country I personally, as an
individual citizen, have a right to self-defense?
SOTOMAYOR: I -- as I said, I don't know.
COBURN: I'm talking about your...
SOTOMAYOR: I don't know if that legal question has been ever
presented.
COBURN: I wasn't asking about the legal question. I'm asking about
your personal opinion.
SOTOMAYOR: But that is sort of an abstract question with no
particular meaning to me...