A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
For the first time, a federal appeals court has decided in favor of the individual interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. Until now, the text of the amendment has been interpreted to support the right to bear arms as part of an organized militia (read: National Guard) and not an individual citizen. However, ongoing lobbying from the National Rifle Association, other gun rights organizations, and pressure from the Bush Administration's Justice Department appears to have convinced the court to reconsider.
The decision is not likely to stand, because the rift between Appeals Courts' decisions will send this puppy right up to the Supreme Court. This is what they like to call a "landmark case."
What do you think of the court's decision?
1 comment:
A couple of things that make this case particularly interesting to my mind:
1. DC's "local" legislative body is the federal Congress. Legislation agreed upon on that body for DC could conceivably be viewed as a litmus test for what they would be willing to agree to on a national scale.
2. The DC laws challenged in this case (Parker v. District of Columbia) were all last modified in 1993 and 1994, when the Congress was controlled by Democrats.
3. The Court of Appeals ruling was that this provision was unconstitutionally restrictive:
"Except for law enforcement personnel described in § 7-2502.01(b)(1), each registrant shall keep any firearm in his possession unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device unless such firearm is kept at his place of business, or while being used for lawful recreational purposes within the District of Columbia."
This means that what will likely happen is the Supreme Court will address *only* this aspect of the case, and that law specifically, while doing its best to stay away from the broader second amendment issue.
4. I think that any Supreme Court addressing of the Second Amendment is still a long way off.
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