As Washington, DC braces for one of the most pivotal and defining moments of the Supreme Court this year, I am left to wonder how the rest of the country will react.
As many of you are aware, DC has one of the most restrictive handgun bans in the country and petitioned a challenge of that ban all the way to the Supreme Court. I was present for oral arguments in March and I don't think the ban passes constitutional muster.
Since the last day of the High Court's term is today, I expect the decision to be handed out soon. I'll post the .pdf here if I can get access to it.
8 comments:
so much for 2nd amendment
"I don't think the ban passes constitutional muster." Does this mean that you think that the court will decide or interpret that the 2nd ammendment refers to an individual's right to carry firearms and not the military and or militia?
The ban needs to go, when you go over board on gun laws like this the only people who benifit are criminals, who obtain them illegally anyway.
Curious,
This court will not interpret. I will shit bricks if they do. That being said, DC's 100% ban is unconstiutional and because of it's very restrictive nature it will be overturned.
The term has ended. The justices have 7 days to issue a ruling.
One more thing curious,
None of the justices were in favor of interpreting the 2nd amendment; not even the more liberal leaning justices.
I'm not really familiar with the DC ban. All I know is that many other cities are looking to the decision in order to guide their own laws and restrictions on hand guns. But if the court doesn't determine that the ban goes against the 2nd ammendment, then why do think that they will rule against the ban and call it unconstitutional?
Curious,
The DC ban is under scrutiny because before 1976 there were laws in place to curtail the possession of illegal firearms.
The handgun ban went into effect post 1976 because the city found that nearly 80% of all the homicides committed the previous year, were committed with guns.
Even still the District decided that in the best interest of the safety of its citizens, to institute a law that prevents the sale of firearms in DC, prohibits DC residents from purchasing guns in other places and bringing them to DC, and for those who had guns prior to 1976 prohibits the gun being loaded and requires that the ammunition and gun be locked and stored separately.
6 DC residents brought challenges to the ordinance and the Court of Appeals overturned the ban. I believe the Supreme Court will provide guidance for the framing of future gun control laws and will defer to States' rights to determine how to craft that type of legislation.
However, the court will not interpret the 2nd amendment. The ban will be overturned, but I think the decision will be written in such a way that states' will be given the latitude to be more specific with gun control laws that do not infringe on the individual's right to bear arms.
I blogged about this over at my site: come check it out!
L
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