Posted on 06/26/2008 2:45:32 PM PDT by neverdem
If the title isn't the understatement of the day, please show it to me. The universal right to self defense as recognized by an individual right interpretation of the Second Amendment depended on Justice Anthony Kennedy in a 5 - 4 decision. I was disappoined in Ginsburg and Souter considering their opinions in Muscarello.
It was a clean decision. Fears that it would create new infringements were proven unfounded. All of D.C.'s infringemnts at issue were declared infringements, nothing more, nothing less, and struck down. D.C. was told to deal with it. "We affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals. It is so ordered."
All of the other infringements around the country, licensing, registration, concealed carry bans, handgun prohibitions, de facto machinegun bans, felon and nutjob bans, etc., were left standing. We still have a long road to hoe. I expect the "open carry" movement to spread around the country, especially in places that prohibit concealed carry or have "may issue" concealed carry privileges. I also believe paying for licensing and registration will become an issue. You don't pay for a right.
Good God! The Lord works in mysterious ways. I didn't think it would be that close. If you are an atheist or agnostic, please reconsider. My prayers were answered.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER This pdf link is where I read the majority decision. It's the first 64 pages by their count, 67 pdf pages on my computer. The remainder are the minority decisions. The following are HTML links to the Syllabus of the decision and the majority decision, respectively.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA v. HELLER
Comment# 1 is a serial collection of excerpts of text, referenced blockquotes and footnotes that grabbed me. If you haven't read a Supreme Court decision, take a gander at my excerpts. The history is beautiful. (Pardon the spelling errors from words being fused in the translation from the pdf to HTML.)
The majority took the minority apart point by point, up close and personal! They took on by name Ginsburg, Stevens and Breyer. Souter was mum. I'd like to see the minority impeached. They were supposed to defend the Constitution, not castrate it.
Yes, it shows that at least four of these guys can't read ENGLISH.
Yes, Scalia tried to tread the needle and failed. He recognized the full meaning of “the right to keep and bear arms” yet failed to recognize that the right exists any further than your front door. He could have ruled that your rights exist regardless of your location in public with a few exceptions, but didn’t. It is a start, but there are many battles yet to fight.
Thanks very much for all your time and effort! You’ve kept us up to date since the beginning of Parker/Heller and and we appreciate it.
The next president may select the next justice....There are some that say it doesn’t matter who wins the next election Obama or McCain. I say that the more conservative of the two needs to win and this case illustrates why.
As I've posted elsewhere, I think a fundamental right that no one talks about is the right to self-defense. I think it was so self-evident that the general populace could protect themselves against criminals, savages, and wild beasts in 1776 that it wasn't specifically spelled out for the obtuse generations to come. If criminals are armed, self-defense requires arms.
Also discussed by the founders was the need to bear arms against potential government misconduct, but that's not the daily issue facing most Americans, and hopefully it won't ever be.
those 4 justices are traitors.....
their job is to defend the constitution, not re-write it.
You want scary, consider what will happen if Obama-dama is elected and proceeds to stack that court with his favorite folks. We've already seen that it doesn't bother those twits one bit to revisit and usurp precedents.
I have some questions.
1. How does this effect the New York State Sullivan gun law?
2. Can one buy a pistol for home defense in any state (New York?) without a permit. Presently one has to go before a local judge and pay a whopping fee?
3. Once you have a pistol, where can one go to target practice with it? In your basement?
4. Can one have more than one pistol for self defense? Can one have a pistol for the wife.?
I always dodge bullets.
Government already has control of the 1st. They want total control of the 2nd because it is the most dangerous to them personally.
Wow, now THAT is a vanity!!!!
Great work, I need to now REALLY read it closely....after I get myself around a beer.
(Been outside all day in the sun.)
You want us to celebrate this? Pray tell, why? We are on the fast road to tyranny. The fact that our black robed lords and masters, by a very slim majority, voted to “give” us a right that is already OURS to being with, is DISGUSTING. They trash the US Constitution in decision after decision and we are supposed to celebrate when they turn off the heat right before the proverbial frog is boiled????
All we’ve “won” is a temporary reprieve, and THAT is nothing to celebrate.
Yes! I’m celebrating!
The SCOTUS just ended *decades* of liberal lies about so-called “collective rights” for the 2nd, but “individual” rights for the 1st.
This is an enormous victory, and it is important to celebrate milestones.
...that you lament past setbacks instead of celebrating current victories shows problems that you need to deal with personally...but the rest of the U.S. should be celebrating FREEDOM!
We didn’t even have to shed blood for this win.
Why do we need the amendment process when we have the Supreme Court as constituted after Marbury v. Madison?
A similar query, why bother enumerating powers if the “general welfare” clause allows all?
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