All creatures kill but only man kills in malice

Bring back Charlton Heston.

From the cold clutching hands of Jared Lee Loughner they had to pry his constitutionally protected firearm.

It could just as easily have been an AK47 or a Kalishnikov, of course, but a Glock 19 was Loughner’s constitutionally protected weapon. The semi-automatic pistol with an extended clip holding 30 rounds of ammunition fulfilled his right to form a militia, or to protect him from such menacing threats as a 120-pound Congresswoman.

Let there be no doubt or dissension. He had a constitutional right.

Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, Rush Limbaugh, et al, have a constitutional right to freedom of speech. The fact that they primarily see this as a right to defend negative, misinformed and even inflammatory speech has no bearing on their right. The Constitution allows for a broad implementation.

The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka Kansas has a constitutional right to freedom of religion. They show up at funerals to assert God’s retribution for the wicked ways of soldiers and little girls. They condemn a mother to Hell for allowing her son to go to war. They seem to have a rather clear vision of Hell.
But they are protected under the Constitution.

Americans of all stripes have constitutionally protected rights. That is one side of a two-sided tablet. The other side has to do with civility, responsibility and concern for the common good.

It is well to possess and exercise constitutionally guaranteed rights. That‘s the legal side.

The morally responsible side, comes from a well of commonly known. and observed. mores.

All the rights in the world are of little consequence in a society bent upon anarchy.

“Of all the creatures [man]...is the only one--the solitary one--that possesses malice. He is the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain. All creatures kill...man is the only one...that kills in malice...“
- Mark Twain's Autobiography

Or, it might be said, uses his constitutional rights as a justification.