Hell(er) YES
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Some points to ponder gleaned off of comments and commentary:
Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Basically, said they have to have a shall-issue program.
They also address the idea of only those guns that were around at the writing of the Amendment. Scalia specifically says that is not the case.
Obama will issue a statement supporting the minority opinion. McCain will issue a statement supporting the majority opinion.
Scalia correctly interpreted the 2nd amendment to secure an individual right to bear arms, invalidated the D.C. gun ban, but declined to specify a level of scrutiny for regulations of gun ownership. In other words, the opinion will probably lead to striking down blanket bans like D.C.'s and Chicago's, but we have no idea what the court will do in cases with less complete gun bans.
The Dissent:
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a dissent, which was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter. Stevens said the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons." The precedent was 150 years of individual rights- the other side has just held sway for the last 75.
I am profoundly disappointed in Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, both of whom assured us of their respect for precedent. With this decision, 70 years of precedent has gone out the window. And I believe the people of this great country will be less safe because of it. - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Tough Luck you Gun Grabbing Bitch
JUSTICE BREYER moves on to make a broad jurisprudential point: He criticizes us for declining to establish a level of scrutiny for evaluating Second Amendment restrictions. He proposes, explicitly at least, none of the traditionally expressed levels (strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, rational basis), but rather a judge-empowering "interestbalancing inquiry" that "asks whether the statute burdens a protected interest in a way or to an extent that is out of proportion to the statute'’s salutary effects upon other important governmental interests." Leave it just to judges - I don't think so.
The PushBack:
Just so you know what we are up against, check out the complete list of pro- and anti-gun legislation pending in the 110th Congress. While not all are bad, check out the new AWB HR1022. Say goodbye to shotguns.
Say Uncle has tons of posts on Heller, with puns
including this update. Holy Crap!
Some points to ponder gleaned off of comments and commentary:
Because Heller conceded at oral argument that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced arbitrarily and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement. Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Basically, said they have to have a shall-issue program.
They also address the idea of only those guns that were around at the writing of the Amendment. Scalia specifically says that is not the case.
Obama will issue a statement supporting the minority opinion. McCain will issue a statement supporting the majority opinion.
Scalia correctly interpreted the 2nd amendment to secure an individual right to bear arms, invalidated the D.C. gun ban, but declined to specify a level of scrutiny for regulations of gun ownership. In other words, the opinion will probably lead to striking down blanket bans like D.C.'s and Chicago's, but we have no idea what the court will do in cases with less complete gun bans.
The Dissent:
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a dissent, which was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter. Stevens said the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons." The precedent was 150 years of individual rights- the other side has just held sway for the last 75.
I am profoundly disappointed in Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, both of whom assured us of their respect for precedent. With this decision, 70 years of precedent has gone out the window. And I believe the people of this great country will be less safe because of it. - Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. Tough Luck you Gun Grabbing Bitch
JUSTICE BREYER moves on to make a broad jurisprudential point: He criticizes us for declining to establish a level of scrutiny for evaluating Second Amendment restrictions. He proposes, explicitly at least, none of the traditionally expressed levels (strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, rational basis), but rather a judge-empowering "interestbalancing inquiry" that "asks whether the statute burdens a protected interest in a way or to an extent that is out of proportion to the statute'’s salutary effects upon other important governmental interests." Leave it just to judges - I don't think so.
The PushBack:
Just so you know what we are up against, check out the complete list of pro- and anti-gun legislation pending in the 110th Congress. While not all are bad, check out the new AWB HR1022. Say goodbye to shotguns.
If you need a reason to vote for McLame, consider that this was a 5-4 decision, and whomever is in next will probably appoint 2 - 3 justices. Do you trust Obonga to appoint justices who would support the 2A.
Say Uncle has tons of posts on Heller, with puns
including this update. Holy Crap!
Categories
Guns and 2nd Amendment0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: Hell(er) YES.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.handgunowner.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/653
