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The Earps are always portrayed as the "good guys" in the movies and the Clantons and the Cowboys' gang are portayed as the corrupted bad guys.
The Earps were appointed as town sherriff and deputies and had imposed a town ordinance/law of "no guns carried in town". The shootout at the OK corral was the Earps attempt to disarm the group of cowboys who were bearing arms against the town ordinance.
Were the Earps really the good guys?
Some quotes:
"The right of a citizen to bear arms, in lawful defense of himself or the State, is absolute. He does not derive it from the State government. It is one of the "high powers" delegated directly to the citizen, and `is excepted out of the general powers of government.' A law cannot be passed to infringe upon or impair it, because it is above the law, and independent of the lawmaking power." [Cockrum v. State, 24 Tex. 394, at 401-402 (1859)]
"The provision in the Constitution granting the right to all persons to bear arms is a limitation upon the power of the Legislature to enact any law to the contrary. The exercise of a right guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be made subject to the will of the sheriff." [People vs. Zerillo, 219 Mich. 635, 189 N.W. 927, at 928 (1922)]
Many Wild West towns had troubles in many forms including public intoxication, street murders, prostitution, and common stagecoach robberies, etc. Some hero sherriffs cleaned it up and eventually established law and order accross the territories, but what do you think about the Earps and the 2A? Did they do it right?
The Earps were appointed as town sherriff and deputies and had imposed a town ordinance/law of "no guns carried in town". The shootout at the OK corral was the Earps attempt to disarm the group of cowboys who were bearing arms against the town ordinance.
Were the Earps really the good guys?
Some quotes:
"The right of a citizen to bear arms, in lawful defense of himself or the State, is absolute. He does not derive it from the State government. It is one of the "high powers" delegated directly to the citizen, and `is excepted out of the general powers of government.' A law cannot be passed to infringe upon or impair it, because it is above the law, and independent of the lawmaking power." [Cockrum v. State, 24 Tex. 394, at 401-402 (1859)]
"The provision in the Constitution granting the right to all persons to bear arms is a limitation upon the power of the Legislature to enact any law to the contrary. The exercise of a right guaranteed by the Constitution cannot be made subject to the will of the sheriff." [People vs. Zerillo, 219 Mich. 635, 189 N.W. 927, at 928 (1922)]
Many Wild West towns had troubles in many forms including public intoxication, street murders, prostitution, and common stagecoach robberies, etc. Some hero sherriffs cleaned it up and eventually established law and order accross the territories, but what do you think about the Earps and the 2A? Did they do it right?
