SCOTUS: DC Gun Ban Arguments: Which Side Are They On

As most of you will know, the U.S. Supreme Court held oral argument in District of Columbia v. Heller, the D.C. gun ban case. An extremely important Second Amendment case; in fact, the first of its kind in generations (about 70 years).

But what is truly interesting, is to see the listing of amicus: that is, third parties who have submitted "friend of the court" briefs, advocating one side or the other of the issue.

Following is the list. It is arranged first according to those who support the ban - and then, those who oppose the ban. Many of the usual suspects can be seen supporting the ban - although this part of the list is noticable shorter than the other.

Also, notice that many members of Congress have signed on to one side or the other, in their own briefs. FAR more are advocating in opposition to than in support of the gun ban. Only a handful of Reps supported the ban, and no Senators. MANY in both Houses opposed the ban. (Again, see the list below)

Neither Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton, nor Barack Hussein Obama had the guts to support either side. John McCain, of course, opposed the ban.

Violence Policy Center and the Police Chiefs for the Cities of Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle

Major American Cities, the United State Conference of Mayors and Legal Community Against Violence

Jack N. Rakove, Saul Cornell, David T. Konig, William J. Novak, Lois G. Schwoerer et al.

American Public Health Association, American College of Preventive Medicine, American Trauma Society, and American Association of Suicidology

DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, D.C. Chamber of Commerce, D.C. for Democracy, D.C. League of Women Voters, Federal City Council of Lawyers

American Academy of Pediatrics, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, the Childrens Defense Fund, Women Against Gun Violence, and Youth Alive!

Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, National Black Police Association, the National Latino Peace Officers Association, School Safety Advocacy Council, and the Police Executive Research Forum

Professors of Linguistics and English Dennis E. Baron, Ph. D, Richard W. Bailey, Ph. D, and Jeffrey P. Kaplan United States of America

Buckeye Firearms Foundation LLC, National Council for Investigationand Security Services, Ohio Association of Private Detective Agencies, Inc., DBA Ohio Association of Security and Investigation Services (OASIS), Michigan Council of Private Investigators, Indiana Association of Professional Investigators, and Kentucky Professional Investigators Association

Criminologists, Social Scientists, Other Distinguished Scholars, and the Claremont Institute (reprint)

Alaska Outdoor Council, the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund, SITKA Sportsman's Association, the Juneau Rifle and Pistol Club, the Juneau Gun Club, and Alaska Territorial Sportsmen, Inc.

Major General John D. Altenburg, Jr., Lieutenant General Charles E. Dominy, Lieutenant General Tom Fields, Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner, General Ronald H. Griffith, General William H. Hartzog, Lieutenant General Ronald V. Hite, Major General John. G. Meyer, Jr., Honorable Joe R. Reeder, Lieutenant General Dutch Shoffner, General John Tilelli, and The American Hunters and Shooters Association

55 Members of the United States Senate, the President of the U.S. Senate, and 250 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives

International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association (ILEETA), the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors (IALEFI), Maryland State Lodge, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Southern States Police Benevolent Association, 29 Elected California District Attorneys, the San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, the Long Beach Police Officers Association, Texas Police Chiefs Association, Texas Municipal Police Association, New York State Association of Auxiliary Police, Mendocino County, California Sheriff Thomas D. Allman, Oregon State Rep. Andy Olson, the National Police Defense Foundation, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and the Independence Institute (reprint)

States of Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washignton, West Virginia, and Wyoming

Organizations and Scholars Correcting Myths and Misrepresentations Commonly Deployed by Opponents of an Individual-Right-Based Interpretation of the Second Amendment

Gun Owners of America, Inc., the Gun Owners Foundation, Maryland Shall Issue, Inc., the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Gun Owners of California, Inc., the Lincoln Institute for Research and Education, and the Conservative Legal Defense and Education Fund State Firearm Associations

Southeastern Legal Foundation, Inc., Second Amendment Sisters, Inc., Women Against Gun Control, 60 Plus Association, Inc., Robert B. Smith, J.D., Christie Davies, M.A., Ph. D. Joe Michael Cobb, and Mrs. Minnie Lee Faulkner

Motion for Leave to File Out of Time Amicus Curiae Brief and Brief of the State of Wisconsin

some surprises-i didn’t think Feingold supported firearms rights-i listened to the arguments and to my amazement Ginsburg seemed to take it as a given that individuals could own firearms-she was interested in the idea of licensing handguns-and it didn’t sound like she was pushing that concept as very restrictive-now i oppose licensing guns at all,but coming from a miserable left winger like her it was encouraging-Thomas didn’t seem to be very interested-the most anti-gun sounding were Breyer and Stevens-Lawrence Tribe of Harvard has shown integrity by saying that he opposes gun ownership politicaally,but he nevertheless thinks it is guaranteed by the 2nd amendment

6 posted on 03/18/2008 9:45:25 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))

Thanks. I noticed that it is not on the list and was wondering if I was mistaken. This decision will tell us if Bush’s Presidencey was a success because it we will find out where his appointees stand on our fundamental rights as Americans.

the International Association of Chiefs of Police, Major Cities Chiefs, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, National Black Police Association, the National Latino Peace Officers Association, School Safety Advocacy Council, and the Police Executive Research Forum

Someone should (1) remind this disgraceful group who they work for and (2) fire any of them still on the public payroll

10 posted on 03/19/2008 4:49:17 AM PDT by Virginia Ridgerunner ("We must not forget that there is a war on and our troops are in the thick of it!"--Duncan Hunter)

Maybe the “Blue Dog” Dem movement had some impact on the libs. Maybe the Dems are beginning to get it - Joe Six Pack doesn’t like folks messing with his gun rights and neither do I.

14 posted on 03/19/2008 6:22:52 AM PDT by ZULU (Non nobis, non nobis Domine, sed nomini tuo da gloriam. God, guts and guns made America great.)

They submitted a brief that supposedly supported the individual RKBA but also wanted powers so broad that the federal government could constitutionally ban every single gun in the US, effectively rendering it a privilege that can be revoked by the government for any or no reason.

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