cripplecreek: “It makes me awfully nervous.”
Me, too. I see another 5-4 decision, and I’m not sure which way the 5th vote is going to fall. I think four of the justices will uphold the clear meaning of the 2nd amendment, but the four leftists will ignore it. They’ll parse the wording and/or misinterpret past precedent to create a right to ban guns (is there any doubt about Ruth Bader?). On the other hand, I don’t get a feel for that 5th vote.
I have a bad feeling about Kennedy, who is the swing vote on the court and will probably remain so in this case. His recent willingness to place international law above the US Constitution leaves me feeling very uneasy about his decision on issues like this.
On this particular issue, yes there is. She's already expressed opinions indicating that the second amendment protects individual rights. The only question will be if she thinks the DC gun laws (or the 3 of them the Court will be considering) violate those individual rights.
Given that she agrees it's an individual right, it's hard to see even her deciding that at least some of those provisions don't violate those rights.