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  #61 (permalink)  
Old 06-09-2008
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kramer kramer is offline
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

Anybody hear what is going on with this case? Seems to me that the longer it takes, the more favorable it is for the anti-gun crowd.

Kramer
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  #62 (permalink)  
Old 06-11-2008
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EricOKC EricOKC is offline
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kramer View Post
Anybody hear what is going on with this case? Seems to me that the longer it takes, the more favorable it is for the anti-gun crowd.

Kramer
The decision should come out this month - perhaps even tomorrow.

I don't think there is any concern about it becoming more favorable for the anti- crowd.
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  #63 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

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Originally Posted by kramer View Post
Somehow, I think there is a chance that this will be the final nail in the 2nd amendment coffin.
I think it's timely to state that I don't think I've ever seen a more inaccurate prediction...
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  #64 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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kramer kramer is offline
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

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I think it's timely to state that I don't think I've ever seen a more inaccurate prediction...
I'm eating crow right now (and enjoying every bit of it!).

Kramer
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Albert Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
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  #65 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
TSGracchus TSGracchus is offline
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

Very interesting. Here's an article on the decision.

Supreme Court asserts broad gun rights | csmonitor.com

Some points to note:

Scalia, writing for the majority, appears to have added language to the 2A's own rationale for its existence:

Quote:
"We hold that the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the majority opinion.

The majority justices said the District's strict gun regulations violated "the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home."
So the Court appears to have decided that the Second Amendment guarantees (with some limitations) the right to keep and bear arms not only for the purpose of maintaining a well-regulated militia, but also for the purpose of self-defense. With which, purely as a matter of interpretation, I disagree and it seems to me the law could have been struck down without that language and should have been if that is what the Court thought appropriate. Scalia is legislating from the bench here.

Worth noting as well is that only some parts of the D.C. law were struck down.

Quote:
"The right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited," Scalia wrote. "Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill," he said. The opinion did not undermine laws "forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings," he said.

He added that the opinion did not undercut laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.
In other words, while a blanket ban on ownership of handguns, or on keeping them in condition to be readily used, is unconstitutional, other restrictions might not be, including the registration of weapons (which remains in force in the D.C. law).

Also:

Quote:
In addition, in the opinion's most significant limitation, the majority justices said the Second Amendment provides a right for Americans to possess the sorts of weapons that were in common use at the time of the drafting of the amendment – meaning rifles and handguns. "We think that limitation is fairly supported by the historical tradition prohibiting the carrying of 'dangerous and unusual weapons,' " Scalia said.
Well, he's utterly full of it. Here again, the Court is legislating from the bench, rewriting the purpose for which the Second Amendment was included in the Constitution, which is obviously military. At that time, the standard military small arm was a smoothbore or rifled muzzle-loaded musket with fixed bayonet. If we were to keep with the intent of the Amendment, it would guarantee a right to "keep and bear" (which does not necessarily mean "own") weapons of similar military utility today, meaning fully-automatic rifles, body armor, hand grenades and grenade launchers, machine guns, and similar arms, not hunting rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Or certainly not just those non-military arms.

Ah, well, the Court has decided, and this is not the first time it's legislated from the bench. But one might at least expect Scalia to be truer to his stated principles than this.
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  #66 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

Quote:
Originally Posted by TSGracchus View Post
So the Court appears to have decided that the Second Amendment guarantees (with some limitations) the right to keep and bear arms not only for the purpose of maintaining a well-regulated militia, but also for the purpose of self-defense. With which, purely as a matter of interpretation, I disagree and it seems to me the law could have been struck down without that language and should have been if that is what the Court thought appropriate.
After the Constitution was written and when the country was first founded, did the government go around asking all people who are not in a militia to turn in their guns else join a milita? No. As such, your view of the 2nd amendment is totally wrong.



Quote:
Originally Posted by TSGracchus View Post
Well, he's utterly full of it. Here again, the Court is legislating from the bench, rewriting the purpose for which the Second Amendment was included in the Constitution, which is obviously military. At that time, the standard military small arm was a smoothbore or rifled muzzle-loaded musket with fixed bayonet. If we were to keep with the intent of the Amendment, it would guarantee a right to "keep and bear" (which does not necessarily mean "own") weapons of similar military utility today, meaning fully-automatic rifles, body armor, hand grenades and grenade launchers, machine guns, and similar arms, not hunting rifles, shotguns, or handguns. Or certainly not just those non-military arms.
Let's apply your 'logic' to the 1st amendment. Back then, there was no television, radio, or internet. So does the 1st amendment only apply to hand cranked printing presses and books?

Kramer
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Albert Shanker, former president of the American Federation of Teachers
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  #67 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

I think this was a great decision. Striking down a universal ban but not gun registration laws, all while not severely limiting it to DC only. I've gotta congratulate the Supreme Court on a job well done.
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  #68 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

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Originally Posted by TSGracchus View Post
Worth noting as well is that only some parts of the D.C. law were struck down.
The most important aspect, as I see it, is one of possession within the limits of the city. Even in ones' own home, this was illegal in DC prior to this ruling.

Let's be honest here. Not too many people strap on a sidearm before they leave the house, or even want to. Concealed carry in DC was never the issue here. But the ability for a resident of DC to have a firearm in his home, when it was previously a crime to do so, is fucking huge...
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  #69 (permalink)  
Old 06-26-2008
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Re: Will Supreme Court terminate the 2nd Amendment?

Note that it also strikes down laws that require a gun owner to have the gun disassembled or have a trigger lock on it. This is great as those measures defeat the purpose of having a gun for self-defense.
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