Posted on 11/05/2009 9:03:07 AM PST by mikelets456
A New Jersey appeals court has concluded that Americans have no Second Amendment right to buy a handgun.
In a case decided last week, the superior court upheld a state law saying that nobody may possess "any handgun" without obtaining law enforcement approval and permission in advance.
That outcome might seem like something of a surprise, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year in the D.C. v. Heller case that the Second Amendment guarantees "the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation."
But New Jersey Appellate Division Judge Stephen Skillman wrote on behalf of a unanimous three-judge panel that Heller "has no impact upon the constitutionality of" the state law.
That's because, Skillman said, the Supreme Court did not strike down the District of Columbia's de facto handgun ban but instead simply ordered the city to issue a permit. In other words, while Americans may have the right in general to possess arms, the exact contours of that right have not been mapped, especially as the Second Amendment applies to state laws. (The court's majority opinion last year said: "We therefore assume that petitioners' issuance of a license will satisfy respondent's prayer for relief and do not address the licensing requirement.")
Look for the Supreme Court to revisit this question in a few months when it hears a case called McDonald v. Chicago. It's a constitutional challenge to Chicago's restrictive gun laws, which prohibit anyone from possessing firearms -- even in their homes -- "unless such person is the holder of a valid registration certificate for such firearm."
New Jersey's laws are similar. They say: ......
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
As a citizen of the United States of America, I answer only to laws that adhere to the Constituion.
I reject the findings of any court who refute the Law of the Land.
Please co-sign, my fellow Freepers....
I left that state 35 years ago and have never looked back.
Phooey.
Gun-up!
That is just the kind of statement that might make SCOTUS confirm that the 2nd is incorporated against the states.
Now there is a third world cesspit overdue for a regime change.
Happy Guy Fawlks’ Day.
This is not an American court; it's a European court -- rights are not God-given but are given to subjects at the whim of those in power.
Screw em. Go out of state and buy enough to fill your trunk........
This is not an American court; it's a European court -- rights are not God-given but are given to subjects at the whim of those in power.
Another day, another travesty from some crooked, degenerate, megalomaniacal black-robed bastard.
Good point. It IS NJ after all.
Skillman...another Harvard “genius”...indoctrinated in Communism/Socialism/Marxism...and I’d bet dollars-to-donuts that his ancestors were Jewish... those who should have been armed to the teeth in 1930’s Germany.
“In other words, while Americans may have the right in general to possess arms, the exact contours of that right have not been mapped, especially as the Second Amendment applies to state laws.”
“...the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”
How F’ing hard is it to understand???
Headline is incorrect. A state court interpreting state law said New Jerseyans (New Jerseyites?) have no right to buy handguns. As they were not interpreting federal laws, they weren’t speaking about the entire country.
The idiocy of not incorporating the entire bill or rights at once is still having an effect. Hopefully the SC will correct this this term.
MOLON LABE!!
If “shall not be infringed” isn’t clear enough, it’s because they are trying to misunderstand the law of the land.
I guess New Jersey has declared itself independent from the United States Consititution.
NJ courts would be wrong.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.