Some of you may remember my prognosis for Heller a few months back: that the SCOTUS would affirm the Second Amendment as an individual right, but in a half-assed way, by adding something about how it still permits “reasonable” regulation by state and local governments.
That leaves us pretty much back at the status quo ante, except for the folks in localities like Chicago and D.C., who all owe Mr. Heller a beer or two.
16 Comments
June 26, 2008 at 10:05 am
Baby steps, Marko. We’ve killed the BS argument that there is a “collective right”.
Money quote, from Fox news:
“In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority “would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons.”
Um….yeah, that’s kind of the point, Mr. Justice Stevens.
June 26, 2008 at 10:28 am
George is right on point. For years the left has used incremental steps to foist their beliefs and policies upon us. How do you boil a frog? For years, conservatives have beaten back the liberal’s rising tide of propaganda with facts and steadfast battles on a small scale to preserve and expand 2A rights in the USA. Celebrate our victory, but continue our vigilance and our fight for probably the most important of our freedoms. Especially with a looming Obama administration. I feel really good about my 2 votes for GWB right now.
June 26, 2008 at 10:30 am
You are good!
The decision does however, open the door to, and provide a fairly solid foundation for further challenges.
June 26, 2008 at 10:39 am
Bob Barr just released a statement expressing his support of the Heller Decision – calling it “One of Court’s most important rulings on behalf of liberty”. See it at http://www.bobbarr2008.com/press
BobBarr2008 dot com
June 26, 2008 at 10:40 am
That the court is predictable has less to do with the Constitution than with the various biases of the members of the court.
June 26, 2008 at 10:48 am
[...] The Munchkin Wrangler- “That leaves us pretty much back at the status quo ante, except for the folks in localities like Chicago and D.C., who all owe Mr. Heller a beer or two.” [...]
June 26, 2008 at 11:10 am
The Big Upsides:
1) There it is, in B&W: “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia…” No more Ninth Circus collective right bullscheisse for the forseeable future.
2) It kicked “safe storage” laws right in the junk.
3) Pawpaw’s duck gun was notable by its absence.
June 26, 2008 at 11:19 am
I expect the anti-gun crowd to keep trying; they’ll just come up with fees, licenses, and requirements that make it difficult to exercise the individual right. There is always some shyster available who will be looking for loopholes.
June 26, 2008 at 11:55 am
I can’t wait to see how it goes over here in MA with all our “safe storage” BS and so much more. . . .
June 26, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Actually, Marko, we are NOT at status quo ante. That would have been where we were if Heller lost and we were found to have a collective right. That’s exactly the political landscape under which we have been laboring across this land. The losses we suffered were because we were not seen to have an individual right to keep and bear arms. The victories we have enjoyed were in spite of a legal culture viewing the RKBA as collective.
Granted, nothing major has changed as of yet, unless you live in DC. But now we fight with the weight of the US Bill of Rights behind us, even if the Second Amendment is not seen to be as all encompassing as the First. Now we set about throwing out unconstitutional bans and educating our fellow countrymen that it is every bit as ludicrous to expect people to register and pay taxes/fees for firearms as it is to register and pay a special tax to exercise your freedom of speech or freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. Imagine being unable to plead the Fifth because you hadn’t registered. Ludicrous.
We have a ways to go, but we’re moving in the right direction. Today means the previous status quo is now dead and buried (hopefully it won’t come back as a zombie), and we can push forward in regaining the rights we have given up.
June 26, 2008 at 12:28 pm
The previous status quo will always come back as a zombie.
Eternal vigilance.
June 26, 2008 at 12:32 pm
You’re good, and I shan’t redux my blog entry in your comments (as that would be rude!) …but historically SCOTUS does things incrementally the vast majority of the time, and if you read the opinion, there are a vast number of hints as to which way the court is moving (not unlike Miranda).
The battle is far from over, but it is a very good day, indeed.
June 26, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Hate on GWB all you want, we wouldn’t even have this limited victory without Alito and Roberts – not to mention Scalia. On supreme appointments, he’s done a whole lot better than even his father and Reagan did.
Yes there are things I don’t agree with, like leaving NFA restrictions intact and keeping the door open for military weapons bans, but this decision is a critical first step in rolling back the 2A violations of the past 70 years. Just the beginning.
This will all be for naught if Obama is elected and appoints justices in the Stevens and Ginsberg mold. We can’t even count on future 5-4 victories if that happens. The majority opinion specifically indicated future cases were needed to further clarify the 2nd.
June 26, 2008 at 2:35 pm
I’m going to agree with Tam et al. It’s not a huge win, but the tide has turned. We’ve crossed the inflection point on the curve. It’s no longer theirs to win, it’s ours to lose, and we must redouble our efforts.
June 26, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Tomorrow, I’m going to be restrained, thoughtful, cogent and practical.
Tonight… CONGA LINE!!!!!
DC-versus-Hel-LER! *kick*
DC-versus-Hel-LER! *kick*
DC-versus-Hel-LER! *kick*
Wooo!
(I apologise for the silliness of this post. Naaah, I’m kidding, I don’t even slight apologise…)
June 27, 2008 at 6:24 am
Marko, one battle at a time. As posted earlier, this is one step in the right direction, and a very solid footing to build off of. It makes me wonder what’s next, someone challanging the currently proposed NY and CA bills that would require ammunition microstamping, limit ammo purchases, and ban anything larger than 0.4999 inches in diameter, including every shotgun except the .410. Or, maybe this will send a message to the proponents of said bills that they are crap and should be flushed.
Time will tell, but good job calling the outcome.