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June 26th, 2008, 10:36 AM #1
SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
The Supreme Court announced its decision today in Heller v District of Columbia, stating by a vote of 5-4 that the 2nd Amendment confers an individual right to keep and bear arms. See the decision here:
For a summary of quotes from the majority, see here:
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/heller-...-the-majority/
For the complete opinion of the Court, see here:
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/wp-cont.../06/07-290.pdf
This thread will be used to keep track of news and links to information regarding the decision. Any extraneous discussion will be removed.Last edited by ChamberedRound; June 26th, 2008 at 02:38 PM.
"Political Correctness is just tyranny with manners"
-Charlton Heston
"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
-James Madison, Federalist Papers, No. 46.
"America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy." [sic]
-John Quincy Adams
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."
-Thomas Jefferson
Μολών λαβέ!
-King Leonidas
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June 26th, 2008, 11:00 AM #2
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
From scotusblog:
http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/court-a...ight-to-a-gun/
Court: A constitutional right to a gun
Thursday, June 26th, 2008 10:52 am | Lyle Denniston |
UPDATE 10:52: The opinion can be downloaded here. Relevant quotes from the majority opinion can be found here, and a replay of our LiveBlog can be found here. Tom’s commentary is here.
Answering a 127-year old constitutional question, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to have a gun, at least in one’s home. The Court, splitting 5-4, struck down a District of Columbia ban on handgun possession. Although times have changed since 1791, Justice Antonin Scalia said for the majority, “it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.”
Justice Scalia’s opinion stressed that the Court was not casting doubt on long-standing bans on carrying a concealed gun or on gun possession by felons or the mentally retarded, on laws barring guns from schools or government buildings, and laws putting conditions on gun sales.
In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the Court nullified two provisions of the city of Washington’s strict 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one’s home, and a requirement that any gun — except one kept at a business — must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The Court said it was not passing on a part of the law requiring that guns be licensed. It said that issuing a license to a handgun owner, so the weapon can be used at home, would be a sufficient remedy for the Second Amendment violation of denying any access to a handgun.
Justice Scalia’s recitation from the bench of the majority’s reasoning continued for 16 minutes. Justice John Paul Stevens followed, for seven minutes, summarizing the reasons for two dissenting opinions — his and one written by Justice Stephen G. Breyer.
The decision was the final one of the Term and, after issuing it, the Court recessed for the summer, to return on Monday, Oct. 6. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., said that concluding orders on pending cases will be released by the Court Clerk at 10 a.m. Friday."Political Correctness is just tyranny with manners"
-Charlton Heston
"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
-James Madison, Federalist Papers, No. 46.
"America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy." [sic]
-John Quincy Adams
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."
-Thomas Jefferson
Μολών λαβέ!
-King Leonidas
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June 26th, 2008, 03:48 PM #3
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
For Immediate Release
June 26, 2008 Contact: Press Office
703-650-5550
Statement by John McCain on Today's Supreme Court Ruling on Second Amendment Rights
ARLINGTON, VA-- U.S. Senator John McCain today issued the following statement regarding today's United States Supreme Court ruling on District of Columbia v. Heller:
Today's decision is a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States. For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. I applaud this decision as well as the overturning of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and limitations on the ability to use firearms for self-defense.
Unlike Senator Obama, who refused to join me in signing a bipartisan amicus brief, I was pleased to express my support and call for the ruling issued today. Today's ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans. Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right- sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly.
This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms. But today, the Supreme Court ended forever the specious argument that the Second Amendment did not confer an individual right to keep and bear arms.
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June 26th, 2008, 05:03 PM #4
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
http://www.delcotimes.com/WebApp/app..._Story_2272910
Excperts from high court ruling knocking down D.C. gun ban
Here are excerpts from Thursday's 5-4 Supreme Court decision striking down the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns.
Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority:
“As the quotations earlier in this opinion demonstrate, the inherent right of self-defense has been central to the Second Amendment right. The handgun ban amounts to a prohibition of an entire class of ’arms’ that is overwhelmingly chosen by American society for that lawful purpose. The prohibition extends, moreover, to the home, where the need for defense of self, family and property is most acute. Under any of the standards of scrutiny that we have applied to enumerated constitutional rights, banning from the home ’the most preferred firearm in the nation to keep and use for protection of one’s home and family,’ would fail constitutional muster.”
Scalia, on the requirement that handguns be kept inoperable:
“We must also address the District’s requirement (as applied to respondent’s handgun) that firearms in the home be rendered and kept inoperable at all times. This makes it impossible for citizens to use them for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.”
Scalia, on the scope of the ruling:
“Nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”
Scalia’s concluding remarks:
“Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment is outmoded in a society where our standing army is the pride of the nation, where well-trained police forces provide personal security, and where gun violence is a serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct.”
*
Justice John Paul Stevens, in dissent:
“Until today, it has been understood that legislatures may regulate the civilian use and misuse of firearms so long as they do not interfere with the preservation of a well-regulated militia. The Court’s announcement of a new constitutional right to own and use firearms for private purposes upsets that settled understanding, but leaves for future cases the formidable task of defining the scope of permissible regulations.”
*
Justice Stephen Breyer, in dissent:
“The majority’s conclusion is wrong for two independent reasons. The first reason is that set forth by Justice Stevens — namely, that the Second Amendment protects militia-related, not self-defense-related, interests. These two interests are sometimes intertwined. To assure 18th-century citizens that they could keep arms for militia purposes would necessarily have allowed them to keep arms that they could have used for self-defense as well. But, self-defense alone, detached from any militia-related objective, is not the Amendment’s concern.
“The second independent reason is that the protection the Amendment provides is not absolute. The Amendment permits government to regulate the interests that it serves.”
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June 27th, 2008, 08:48 AM #5
DOJ Press Release about DC V HELLER
Got this by email today, its the Department of Justice Spokespersons Comments on DC V Heller
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 26, 2008
WWW.USDOJ.GOVOPA
(202) 514-2007
TDD (202) 514-1888
Statement of Brian Roehrkasse, Director of Public Affairs, on Reaction to the Supreme Court's Decision in District of Columbia V. Heller
"The Department is pleased with the Court’s ruling recognizing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms, including for private purposes unrelated to militia operations. The Court’s ruling is in accordance with the text of the Second Amendment, historical practice, and the Attorney General's 2001 guidance on the scope of the Second Amendment. The Department is also pleased that the Court recognized that, like other constitutional rights, that individual right is ‘not unlimited.’ Thus, the Court appropriately made clear that nothing in today’s ruling casts doubt on the constitutionality of ‘longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.’ In addition, the Court appropriately recognized that the ‘carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons,’ such as machine guns, is not protected by the Amendment. The Justice Department is studying the decision but, as was made clear in its 2001 guidance recognizing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right, the Department ‘will continue to defend vigorously the constitutionality, under the Second Amendment, of all existing federal firearms laws.’"
###Sector 4
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June 27th, 2008, 09:26 AM #6
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
AG propaganda
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2008
CONTACT:
Ladd Everitt
(202) 408-0061, x. 103
leveritt@csgv.org
REACTION TO DECISION IN DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA V. HELLER CASE
Statement of Josh Horwitz, Executive Director, Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence
Washington, D.C. - Today, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, the United States Supreme Court departed from over 100 years of earlier judicial decisions and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms for self-defense purposes unconnected with service in a militia. Despite the sweeping tone of the holding, the majority opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia is relatively narrow in scope, and leaves more questions open than it answers.
Struck down in the case were the District of Columbia’s ban on handgun possession in the home and its law requiring that trigger locks be affixed to firearms in the home. The majority opinion refused to announce any test or level of scrutiny for its decision invalidating the laws. The Court determined instead that the District’s handgun ban was an absolute ban on home possession of an entire class of weapons that Americans “overwhelmingly choose for lawful self-defense” (i.e., handguns) and therefore it failed any constitutional test. The Court also struck down D.C.’s trigger lock requirement because the law did not contain an explicit exception for removal of a trigger lock for lawful self-defense use in the home.
By deliberately omitting what test the Court is using to decide that the challenged laws unreasonably burden this newly proclaimed individual right to possess firearms, the Court leaves legislators and lower courts adrift at a time when public health data clearly shows the harm associated with handguns far outweighs any benefit from their use for lawful self defense. We hope and predict that future decisions attempting to apply Heller will reveal its shortcomings, and that the Court will soon have an opportunity to reconsider whether an Amendment the Court says was intended to protect “the people” should be interpreted in a context that gives weight to public health and safety.
Because the District of Columbia is not a state, the Court did not address whether its holding is “incorporated” by the 14th Amendment. However, in a footnote, the Court criticized earlier cases limiting the Second Amendment to acts of Congress.
The majority stressed that the ruling leaves intact certain traditional areas of firearm regulation, such as prohibitions on possession by certain classes of individuals, bans on guns in government buildings and schools, and regulations of firearms sales—but failed to explain why these areas of regulation do not implicate the “individual right” identified by the Court. The decision does not clearly foreclose firearms licensing requirements, provided they are not vulnerable to arbitrary and capricious enforcement.
Now that the Court has determined the Second Amendment protects an individual right and made it clear that right is not absolute, the single biggest excuse for not passing tough gun laws to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and dangerous individuals is gone. While we are disappointed with the Court’s decision, we hope legislators will now use a broad array of public policy options that are clearly constitutional to address the epidemic of gun violence that continues in our country.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about the Heller case, please visit the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence's webpage on the topic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) seeks to secure freedom from gun violence through research, strategic engagement and effective policy advocacy. For more information about the Ed Fund, visit www.efsgv.org.
To prevent mailbox filters from deleting mailings from Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, add efsgv@efsgv.org to your address book.
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June 27th, 2008, 10:50 AM #7
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
Randy Barnett, a legal scholar that I admire, has a commentary on the Heller decision in the Wall Street Journal today:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1214...n_commentaries
News Flash: The Constitution Means What It Says
By RANDY E. BARNETT
June 27, 2008; Page A13
Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion in yesterday's Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller is historic in its implications and exemplary in its reasoning.
A federal ban on an entire class of guns in ordinary use for self-defense – such as the handgun ban adopted by the District of Columbia – is now off the table. Every gun controller's fondest desire has become a constitutional pipe dream.
Two important practical issues remain. First, will this ruling also apply to states and municipalities? That will depend on whether the Supreme Court decides to "incorporate" the right to keep and bear arms into the 14th Amendment. But in the middle of his opinion Justice Scalia acknowledges that the 39th Congress that enacted the 14th Amendment did so, in part, to protect the individual right to arms of freedmen and Southern Republicans so they might defend themselves from violence.
My prediction: This ruling will eventually be extended to the states.
Second, how will the court deal with firearms regulations that fall short of a ban? The majority opinion strongly suggests that such regulations must now be subjected to meaningful judicial scrutiny. The exact nature of this scrutiny is not clear, but Justice Scalia explicitly rejects the extremely deferential "rationality" review advocated by Justice Stephen Breyer.
Most likely, gun laws will receive the same sort of judicial scrutiny that is now used to evaluate "time, place and manner" regulations of speech and assembly. Such regulations of First Amendment freedoms are today upheld if they are narrowly tailored to achieve a truly important government purpose, but not if they are really a pretext for undermining protected liberties.
My prediction? Because gun-rights groups like the NRA have so successfully prevented enactment of unreasonable gun laws, most existing gun regulations falling short of a ban will eventually be upheld. But more extreme or merely symbolic laws that are sometimes proposed – whose aim is to impose an "undue burden" by raising the cost of gun production, ownership and sale – would likely be found unconstitutional. All gun regulations – for example, safe storage laws and licensing – will have to be shown to be consistent with an effective right of self-defense by law-abiding citizens.
Justice Scalia's opinion is exemplary for the way it was reasoned. It will be studied by law professors and students for years to come. It is the clearest, most careful interpretation of the meaning of the Constitution ever to be adopted by a majority of the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia begins with the text, and carefully parses the grammatical relationship of the "operative clause" identifying "the right to keep and bear arms" to the "prefatory clause" about the importance of a "well-regulated militia." Only then does he consider the extensive evidence of original meaning that has been uncovered by scholars over the past 20 years – evidence that was presented to the Court in numerous "friends of the court" briefs.
Justice Scalia's opinion is the finest example of what is now called "original public meaning" jurisprudence ever adopted by the Supreme Court. This approach stands in sharp contrast to Justice John Paul Stevens's dissenting opinion that largely focused on "original intent" – the method that many historians employ to explain away the text of the Second Amendment by placing its words in what they call a "larger context." Although original-intent jurisprudence was discredited years ago among constitutional law professors, that has not stopped nonoriginalists from using "original intent" – or the original principles "underlying" the text – to negate its original public meaning.
Of course, the originalism of both Justices Scalia's and Stevens's opinions are in stark contrast with Justice Breyer's dissenting opinion, in which he advocates balancing an enumerated constitutional right against what some consider a pressing need to prohibit its exercise. Guess which wins out in the balancing? As Justice Scalia notes, this is not how we normally protect individual rights, and was certainly not how Justice Breyer protected the individual right of habeas corpus in the military tribunals case decided just two weeks ago.
So what larger lessons does Heller teach? First, the differing methods of interpretation employed by the majority and the dissent demonstrate why appointments to the Supreme Court are so important. In the future, we should be vetting Supreme Court nominees to see if they understand how Justice Scalia reasoned in Heller and if they are committed to doing the same.
We should also seek to get a majority of the Supreme Court to reconsider its previous decisions or "precedents" that are inconsistent with the original public meaning of the text. This shows why elections matter – especially presidential elections – and why we should vet our politicians to see if they appreciate how the Constitution ought to be interpreted.
Good legal scholarship was absolutely crucial to this outcome. No justice is capable of producing the historical research and analysis upon which Justice Scalia relied. Brilliant as it was in its execution, his opinion rested on the work of many scholars of the Second Amendment, as I am sure he would be the first to acknowledge. (Disclosure: I joined a brief by Academics for the Second Amendment supporting the individual rights interpretation; one of my articles was cited by Justice Scalia and another by Justice Breyer in his dissent.)
Due to the political orthodoxy among most constitutional law professors, some of the most important and earliest of this scholarship was produced by nonacademics like Don Kates, Stephen Halbrook, David Kopel, Clayton Cramer and others. Believe it or not, Heller was a case of nearly first impression, uninhibited by any prior decisions misinterpreting the Second Amendment.
Last but not least, tribute must be paid to the plaintiffs – Shelly Parker, Dick Anthony Heller, Tom Palmer, Gillian St. Lawrence, Tracey Ambeau, and George Lyon – who went where the National Rifle Association feared to tread, and to their lawyers Robert Levy, Clark Neily, and lead counsel Alan Gura. I was privileged to witness Mr. Gura argue the case – his first Supreme Court argument ever – and he was outstanding. Heller provides yet another reminder of the crucial role that private lawyers play in the preservation of our liberties.
Mr. Barnett, a professor at Georgetown Law, is the author of "Restoring the Lost Constitution: The Presumption of Liberty" (Princeton, 2004).
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June 27th, 2008, 01:03 PM #8
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
a "quote" in the 6/27 PatriotPost.us email digest:
“Today, President Bush’s radical Supreme Court justices put rigid ideology ahead of the safety of communities in New Jersey and across the country. This decision illustrates why I have strongly opposed extremist judicial nominees and will continue to do so in the future.”
—Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ)FOAC * GOA * SAF * NRA Life Member
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June 27th, 2008, 02:26 PM #9
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
Got this email from Kim Stolfer who helped work on one of the briefs for the Heller case and Kim forward the following email On Behalf Of Firearms Coalition.
This is pretty much the best synopsis of this decision thus far. The court
"affirmed" but does specifically reject two standards proposed by the
dissent that would make the right effectively meaningless. The majority
rejected a "interests balancing test" and a "rational basis test." These
two paper-thin standards of review would have made the decision meaningless,
and something stricter will be used to review these cases in the future.
This is very good news, because just about any remaining sort of standard of
review is going to involve requiring the government to prove the proposed
laws actually accomplish something.
All in all it is just about what we could have hoped for considering the
parameters of the case.
Semper Fi!
Kim Stolfer
(412) 221-3346, Home Phone
(412) 257-1099, Home Fax
(412) 352-5018, CellOn Behalf Of Firearms Coalition
Sent: Thursday, June 26, 2008 4:44 PM
Supreme Court Victory -ish.
We won! Mostly.
The Supreme Court concluded today that the Second Amendment does
indeed protect an individual right to arms and that the DC handgun ban and
requirement that all guns be rendered inoperable within the home, were
violations of that protection and must be changed. Specifically, the Court
ordered that the District of Columbia must allow Richard Heller to register
a handgun and be issued a permit to carry it about within the confines of
his home in a functional condition for purposes of self-defense.
The Court did not delve deeply into what restrictions would or would
not be acceptable under the Second Amendment though their order that Heller
be allowed to register a handgun and be issued a permit clearly suggest that
they consider such registration and permitting acceptable limitations.
In his majority opinion, Justice Scalia also stated that prohibiting
felons and mental incompetents from firearms was clearly constitutional and
repeated the thoroughly specious argument that he expressed during aural
arguments to the effect that weapons which are not, "in common use," are not
included within the Second Amendment's guarantees. He specifically gave the
example of M-16 rifles being common to military use, but uncommon to
civilian possession - completely ignoring the fact that the only reason
M-16's are not commonly possessed is that their sale to private citizens was
extremely complicated and cost prohibitive for the first twenty years of
that arm's existence and has been completely banned for the past twenty two
years.
No doubt Scalia and his co-signers included this information - which
has absolutely no bearing on the case at hand - to assuage the fears of the
Solicitor General and others who have suggested that an "individual right"
decision would open a floodgate of assaults on existing federal laws
restricting machineguns and "destructive devices." Regardless of the motive
for the position, it is as totally nonsensical as the ridiculous suggestions
put forward in the two minority opinions.
The length to which the dissenting Justices are willing to twist
history and contort language in attempts to justify their outrageous
positions is nothing less than staggering. The intellectual gymnastics
engaged in by the Justices in their efforts to support their idiotic, fore
drawn conclusions should seriously shake the faith of the most trusting
citizen. It is simply outrageous that men and women of intellect and
learning would take up a position and then selectively sort through history
for tiny threads of support for that position while completely ignoring the
full, rich tapestry which displays a clear picture of an absolutely opposite
position.
The intellectual dishonesty displayed by the dissenting Justices -
and to a much lesser degree by the majority - should be deeply disturbing to
every thinking American. These are not trivial matters that are being dealt
with by the Court. These are issues that reach down to the basic founding
principles of our republic. How can we entrust matters of such great import
to people who demonstrate a willingness to contort history to their own
personal beliefs and philosophies rather than examining evidence and drawing
rational conclusions based on that evidence.
Today's decision by the Supreme Court makes two things abundantly
clear:
* Defenders of liberty and our Constitutional Republic face a long and
tedious battle to secure and defend our rights.
* It is absolutely critical that the next President, and every President
thereafter, is committed to appointing judges and justices who will
interpret law and the Constitution based on history and facts, not their own
agendas.
The courts have the potential to undermine and ultimately destroy our
nation and our way of life. It is incumbent upon all of us to diligently
work against the erosion that is eating away at the very foundations of our
society.
Below is the official syllabus (summary) from the Court "Reporter of
Decisions."
It pretty well sums up the majority opinion.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER
CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR
THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT
No. 07-290. Argued March 18, 2008-Decided June 26, 2008
District of Columbia law bans handgun possession by making it a crime
to carry an unregistered firearm and prohibiting the registration of
handguns; provides separately that no person may carry an unlicensed
handgun, but authorizes the police chief to issue 1-year licenses;
and requires residents to keep lawfully owned firearms
unloaded and dissembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.
Respondent Heller, a D. C. special policeman, applied to register a
handgun he wished to keep at home, but the District refused. He
filed this suit seeking, on Second Amendment grounds, to enjoin the
city from enforcing the bar on handgun registration, the licensing
requirement
insofar as it prohibits carrying an unlicensed firearm in
the home, and the trigger-lock requirement insofar as it prohibits the
use of functional firearms in the home. The District Court dismissed
the suit, but the D. C. Circuit reversed, holding that the Second
Amendment protects an individual's right to possess firearms and
that the city's total ban on handguns, as well as its requirement that
firearms in the home be kept nonfunctional even when necessary for
self-defense, violated that right.
Held:
1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a
firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for
traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Pp. 2-53.
(a) The Amendment's prefatory clause announces a purpose, but
does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative
clause. The operative clause's text and history demonstrate that it
connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Pp. 2-22.
(b) The prefatory clause comports with the Court's interpretation
of the operative clause. The "militia" comprised all males physically
capable of acting in concert for the common defense. The Antifederalists
feared that the Federal Government would disarm the people in
order to disable this citizens' militia, enabling a politicized standing
army or a select militia to rule. The response was to deny Congress
power to abridge the ancient right of individuals to keep and bear
arms, so that the ideal of a citizens' militia would be preserved.
Pp. 22-28.
(c) The Court's interpretation is confirmed by analogous armsbearing
rights in state constitutions that preceded and immediately
followed the Second Amendment. Pp. 28-30.
(d) The Second Amendment's drafting history, while of dubious
interpretive worth, reveals three state Second Amendment proposals
that unequivocally referred to an individual right to bear arms.
Pp. 30-32.
(e) Interpretation of the Second Amendment by scholars, courts
and legislators, from immediately after its ratification through the
late 19th century also supports the Court's conclusion. Pp. 32-47.
(f) None of the Court's precedents forecloses the Court's interpretation.
Neither United States v. Cruikshank, 92 U. S. 542, 553, nor
Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 264-265, refutes the individualrights
interpretation. United States v. Miller, 307 U. S. 174, does not
limit the right to keep and bear arms to militia purposes, but rather
limits the type of weapon to which the right applies to those used by
the militia, i.e., those in common use for lawful purposes. Pp. 47-54.
2. Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited.
It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any
manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed
weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment
or state analogues. The Court's opinion should not be taken to cast
doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by
felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms
in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or
laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of
arms. Miller's holding that the sorts of weapons protected are those
"in common use at the time" finds support in the historical tradition
of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons.
Pp. 54-56.
3. The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to
self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District's total ban
on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an
entire class of "arms" that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the
lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny
the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this
prohibition-in the place where the importance of the lawful defense
of self, family, and property is most acute-would fail constitutional
muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the
home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible
for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and
is hence unconstitutional. Because Heller conceded at oral argument
that the D. C. licensing law is permissible if it is not enforced
arbitrarily
and capriciously, the Court assumes that a license will satisfy
his prayer for relief and does not address the licensing requirement.
Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment
rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and
must issue him a license to carry it in the home. Pp. 56-64.
478 F. 3d 370, affirmed.
SCALIA, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS,
C. J., and KENNEDY, THOMAS, and ALITO, JJ., joined. STEVENS, J., filed a
dissenting opinion, in which SOUTER, GINSBURG, and BREYER, JJ.,
joined. BREYER, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which STEVENS,
SOUTER, and GINSBURG, JJ., joined.
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June 26th, 2008, 11:29 AM #10
Re: SCotUS Rules: 2nd Amendment Secures An Individual Right
Read my first post in this thread. This thread is only to post news and information about the decision, so that the thread stays small and is easy to read through. All discussion should continue here, as it was already started before the decision:
http://www.pafoa.org/forum/national-...-26-10-am.html
Sorry for the confusion, Pa. Patriot and I weren't on the same page regarding how to organize this information so it doesn't turn in to a mess."Political Correctness is just tyranny with manners"
-Charlton Heston
"[The Constitution preserves] the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation...(where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."
-James Madison, Federalist Papers, No. 46.
"America does not go abroad in search of monsters to destroy." [sic]
-John Quincy Adams
"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies."
-Thomas Jefferson
Μολών λαβέ!
-King Leonidas
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