Talk:United States/Conservatism
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[edit] Modern American Conservatism
[edit] Gun Politics
A key feature of the Modern American Conservative movement is emphasis on a perception of a broad right to own personal firearms free from governmental regulation. Advocates of personal gun rights form a major component of the modern conservative movement, and they argue that the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution provides a broad personal right to own firearms. The Second Amendment of the United States declares the importance of militia and protects against infringement of the right to bear arms, and scholars generally agree that it does not provide the right, but rather it protects a pre-existing right (if any). Further, since 1939 the Supreme Court of the United States has consistently refused to hear challenges to the ruling U.S. vs. Miller that the "obvious purpose" of the Second Amendment was to ensure viability of arms for the militias, as opposed to a broader personal firearm right. Since 1939, State and local jurisdictions, in many cases, have exercised the option to regulate firearms. Since 1982, with a hearing in a Senate subcommittee lead by Orrin Hatch, the modern conservative movement has advocated for a reversal of the trend towards firearm regulation. Recently, judicially, a personal right to own firearms emanating from the Second Amendment was briefly recognized with the court case of US vs. Emerson which was initially won, though overturned on appeal. The counsel of the Attorney General John Ashcroft also has issued a detailed report, which runs strongly contrary to prior court precedence, that the Constitution provides protection of a personal right to own firearms. The tension between defenders of private gun ownership, advocates of collective gun rights for militias and gun control proponents is a feature of the American political landscape.
[edit] Political Influence of Religion in the United States
Politicians frequently discuss their religion when campaigning and many churches and religious figures are highly politically active. However, to keep their status as tax-exempt organizations they must not officially endorse a candidate.
Evangelical Christians exert a strong influence on political debate in the United States. There are Christians in both parties but evangelical Christians tend to support the Republican party whereas more secular voters support the Democratic party.
The tension between evangelical Christian voters on the one side and more moderate Christian and secular voters on the other side leads to fierce debates over issues such as abortion and same-sex marriages.
The considerable majority of presidents have had some affiliation with Protestant Christianity, several early holders of the office being Deists, with at least four Unitarians and a single Roman Catholic. There has never been a Jewish President or Vice-President although Joe Lieberman was the vice-presidential candidate in 2000. (See the list of U.S. Presidential religious affiliations.)
