Mike CoxPosted on 07/09/2009 4:47:28 PM PDT by neverdem
Mike Cox
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox today threw his support behind the National Rifle Association's challenge of a City of Chicago ordinance banning possession of most handguns by filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
Cox's amicus brief -- a document filed in court by someone not directly related to a case -- supports the request by the NRA to the Supreme Court for an appeal of the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals' decision in June favoring the City of Chicago.
At least 33 other states support the NRA's request for the court to hear an appeal in National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago.
"The right to keep and bear arms is fundamental," said Cox, a Republican candidate for governor, in a press release. "The Supreme Court recognized this in the Heller case, and I am confident they will protect this right yet again. No government should impinge on the basic right to defend yourself."
Cox's statement referred to District of Columbia v. Heller, a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision, which struck down a 32-year-old law in Washington D.C., which barred most residents of the city from owning handguns and required that all legal firearms be kept unloaded and either disassembled or under trigger lock.
Six residents had challenged the law, saying they wanted firearms available in their homes for self-defense.
In the Chicago case, a unanimous three-judge Court of Appeals panel ruled the Supreme Court decision did not apply to states and municipalities.
E-mail the author of this story: localnews@grpress.com
Check this footnote at the bottom of the amicus' page 20, 32 of 48 on my pdf page counter.
7. In addition to the 44 States that expressly protect a right to bear arms in their constitutions, three other States protect a right to self-defense and defense of property. CAL. CONST. art. I, § 1 (originally adopted in 1849); IOWA CONST. art. I, § 1 (originally adopted in 1846); N.J. CONST. art. I, ¶ 1 (originally adopted in 1844). As the Court has noted, “the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right.” Heller, 128 S. Ct. at 2817. Only Maryland, Minnesota, and New York have neither guarantee in their state constitutions.
I feel naked. Otherwise, it's a pretty good read. Thank you Texas and the other states supporting this amicus brief. Folks like me behind enemy lines appreciate it.
Good for Mike Cox who has done very little of note as Attorney General of the state of Michigan. I guess in his run for governor this is “Good for Mike Cox”.
Thanks for the ping!
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