Court: Yes, Chicago, there is a Second Amendment
It will take some time to digest all 214 pages of opinions in today’s Supreme Court ruling in a gun-rights case. But this much is clear: A 5-4 majority of justices said gun-ownership rights are “fundamental to the Nation’s scheme of ordered liberty,” and that city and state governments therefore can’t deny them.
Legal scholars will debate the way the justices went about affirming the “fundamental” nature of the Second Amendment; there was some disagreement even within the five-justice majority. But the key to the case, titled McDonald v. Chicago, was whether the Second Amendment is truly integral to our system of government.
As Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the majority, the Court had already answered that question in its Heller decision, which struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia:
Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day, and in Heller, we held that individual self-defense is “the central component” of the Second Amendment right. (Italics original)
If the thorniest of our policy debates are, to use a football analogy, played between the 40-yard-lines, Chicago’s ban on handguns, even those kept in homes for self-defense purposes, was an attempt to pin the pro-gun rights crowd inside its own 10-yard-line and keep it there. With that said, gun rights will continue to see pushes from policy makers on both sides of the issue. As Hans von Spakovsky wrote in a Heritage Foundation blog item:
The Court clearly said that some government regulation of guns is allowed. But how far can state and local governments go? How burdensome can their regulations be? Can they decide to allow gun ownership that will enable a homeowner to protect himself and his family in his home, but prohibit the concealed carrying of a handgun? All of these questions remain unanswered by today’s opinion that was decided by a narrow one-vote majority.
So, please: No comments about how this decision is “radical” or “dangerous” or anything of the sort. The only thing here that was radical was the Chicago ordinance that has now been struck down sent back to a lower court, which will almost certainly have to strike it down. [edited at 11:48 a.m.]
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297 comments Add your comment
Craig
June 28th, 2010
4:20 pm
Sorry giant p, I will try harder to read the posts clearly while I am at work. You are a great American.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:20 pm
Ignore GP, he’s the product of incest.
Craig
June 28th, 2010
4:23 pm
Big D, I know that and you know that but, I am a compassionate conservative. Little p deserves our kindness and understanding.
Nope nothing to see here folks, move along..
June 28th, 2010
4:25 pm
Judge to Blagojevich lawyers: You can’t see President Obama’s interview with FBI
Judge James Zagel denies a defense request to gain access to the FBI report summarizing then President-Elect Obama’s 2008 interview with federal investigators.
http://blogs.suntimes.com/blago/2010/06/judge_to_blagojevich_lawyers_y.html
Nope nothing to see here folks, move along..
June 28th, 2010
4:26 pm
Can’t see his FBI interview
Can’t see his birth certificate
Can’t see his college records
Can’t see anything about Obama except his photo ops
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:27 pm
Songbird, I was a musician before I was drafted ( yes I’m that old ) and along with the G.I. bill I played and taught my way through grad school at UAB and post grad at G.T. I was self employed ( Licensed engineering firm) until two years ago when I sold the company to a large chemical company with a five year contract ( thanking God ).with someone else to worry about the bottom line. I still do the music like you..it’s my first love and my grounding.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:29 pm
Contemplating President Mitch Daniels
Back in January I wrote an essay lamenting the lack of a credible Republican national leader, a man or woman who’d take the initiative to barnstorm across the country for GOP Congressional candidates, and not incidentally collect I.O.U’s for a 2012 challenge to President Obama. Newt Gingrich was brilliant in this capacity in 1994, and had his alternating bouts of bluster and timidity not done him in, it’s possible he could’ve displaced the tired Bob Dole in the ’96 election. Richard Nixon, ignoring his press obits, and public image as a political laughing-stock, virtually guaranteed his ’68 nomination by successfully traversing the country in ‘66, pressing flesh before audiences tiny and large, and emerged as the main beneficiary of the GOP’s comeback just two years after LBJ’s landslide.
http://www.splicetoday.com/politics-and-media/contemplating-president-mitch-daniels
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:30 pm
Obama # 1 reason to be a Republican.
giant p
June 28th, 2010
4:32 pm
craig/big d, Thanks, but no need to apologize, after all, if conservatives didn’t misqoute people they would have nothing let to say….
Enormous H
June 28th, 2010
4:34 pm
Big D, American Jews ALWAYS vote against Republicans by an enormous margin.
It would seem you non-conservative “friends of Israel” are really not very credible.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:35 pm
Bob, I just had my Jon Voight for President stickers printed. He may be just an actor, but from what I can tell ( with OBOZO ) all this idiot filled country wants is a pretty face that reads well. At leased Jon has had a read job along with some balls.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:35 pm
“Thanks, but no need to apologize, after all, if conservatives didn’t misqoute people they would have nothing let to say….”
Interesting. A gal like giant p, which to me stands for giant p%$$y, is on here boasting about someone misquoting someone else about a fat person.
Also interesting is the fact that giant p misspelled several words in her comment.
Guess liberals are stupid after all.
lourdes
June 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
What happened to all the “W’ bumper stickers are they sitting in a warehouse in Crawford, TX?
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
EH, I never said all American Jews were bright.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:38 pm
“American Jews ALWAYS vote against Republicans by an enormous margin. ”
American Jews-in-name-only vote against Republicans by an enormous margin.
FYT
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:38 pm
“What happened to all the “W’ bumper stickers are they sitting in a warehouse in Crawford, TX?”
Run on sentence much, lourdes?
lourdes
June 28th, 2010
4:38 pm
bob, sorry the hemorrhoid cream didn’t work for you, try not to pick your butt so much, it might help.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:39 pm
GP, do you have …anything to say that requires some form of cognizant thought?
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:41 pm
“bob, sorry the hemorrhoid cream didn’t work for you, try not to pick your butt so much, it might help.”
lourdes, I’m so sorry public schools failed you.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:42 pm
What is it about Liberals and referring to their rear ends…sounds like some form of early child abuse or recreational drug abuse.
Long Jon
June 28th, 2010
4:43 pm
Why would Jews vote for the party of hate (Republicans)?
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:43 pm
Big D
I was just thinking the same thing. lourdes is the second or third left wing retard to bring up butts and a$$es today.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:44 pm
“Why would Jews vote for the party of hate (Republicans)?”
Maybe because the GOP doesn’t want Israel destroyed like the commie democrats….
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:44 pm
LJ, your right …we hate stupid people, they screw up a great country.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:44 pm
Big D
Maybe lourdes had a bad weekend experience at the pride parade.
Enormous H
June 28th, 2010
4:45 pm
Check out the statistics, crybabies. You’re lucky when you get 10% of the Jewish vote.
MOTs with their increidbly accurate BS detectors know you most of you liberal Republicans are both stupid and dangerous.
Not a good combination, from their standpoint.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:47 pm
Bob, your right I have noticed a fascination with their hind ends, all conversation evolves to their butts. It must be that their brains are located there.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:49 pm
EH, are you drunk…you are making no sense at all.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:49 pm
“You’re lucky when you get 10% of the Jewish vote.”
Considering the GOP has had more presidents than the Democrats in the last 30 years……
“MOTs with their increidbly accurate BS detectors know you most of you liberal Republicans are both stupid and dangerous.”
Funny that you call people stupid when you can’t even spell simple words like incredible.
Abe Polstein
June 28th, 2010
4:50 pm
Jews can’t relate to a conservative movement that demonizes minorities and immigrants, hence they vote Democrat.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:51 pm
“Not a good combination, from their standpoint.”
No, but most American Jews are not orthodox. It’s equivalent of a Christian calling themselves a Christian and saying that they don’t believe in Christ.
An oxymoron if you will.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
4:51 pm
“Jews can’t relate to a conservative movement that demonizes minorities and immigrants, hence they vote Democrat.”
Yet they’ll vote for a guy who hung black people? Robert Byrd.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
4:53 pm
Abe, I’m really glad you cleared that one up for all of us liberal republicans. When Obama and company ( Muslims ) come and saw your head off like Daniel Pearl I will now understand and stand idly by.
Enormous H
June 28th, 2010
4:58 pm
Bobby, wanna educate yourself and look up these numbers? Are you bigots and xenophobes (as Abe notes) really so dense you think “real” Jews vote overwhelmingly Republican but they just somehow don’t ever get counted?
And this? “Considering the GOP has had more presidents than the Democrats in the last 30 years……”
WTF does that have to do with the topic at hand?
And Little D, when he gets flummoxed, he goes to the “You’re drunk” card like some slow seventh grader.
No wonder you neanderthals got annihilated in the past two elections…
Lourdes
June 28th, 2010
4:59 pm
I’d like to thank the Jews for killing Jesus.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
5:00 pm
EH, alright …your stoned….That better.
songbird
June 28th, 2010
5:00 pm
I think one reason Jews vote for Democrats is the influence of the fundamentalist Christians on the Republican Party.
Not sure there are many Jews living in West Va. lol
The left is for chicks
June 28th, 2010
5:01 pm
Leftys want protection and comfort. The government is their big, strong man.They trust and submit to govt. They love government.
Liberty and freedom mean little to the lefty. They are soft. They drive silly little cars. That big F150 is scarey ! Guns -even toys- forgetaboutit.
I can understand a female dem. That makes sense. But a man?! Just take a look at Jay Bookmans pic. Dang. Rachel Maddow is more man than that dude.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:01 pm
“Are you bigots and xenophobes (as Abe notes) really so dense you think “real” Jews vote overwhelmingly Republican but they just somehow don’t ever get counted?”
Hey ma’am, can you please point out anything racist that any conservative has said on this blog?
“WTF does that have to do with the topic at hand?”
What does your Jew comment have to do with this topic, retard?
“No wonder you neanderthals got annihilated in the past two elections…”
See you in November, troglodyte!
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:02 pm
“I’d like to thank the Jews for killing Jesus.”
lourdes meet stupid. Stupid meet lourdes.
Big D
June 28th, 2010
5:04 pm
“Quitin Time” I’s Da One Dat Says “Quitin Time”
Lourdes
June 28th, 2010
5:05 pm
Bob, Christianity is predicated on Jesus rising from the dead, he needed a little help getting into the tomb.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:05 pm
“I think one reason Jews vote for Democrats is the influence of the fundamentalist Christians on the Republican Party. ”
What about the influence of Islam on the democrats? Kind of ironic.
Enormous H
June 28th, 2010
5:05 pm
OK, you two fifth grade anti-Semites, go sell your Republistupid somewhere else:
87 percent of Jews vote Democrat
Democratic Party wins largest percentage of Jewish support since 1994. Elections expert: Jews voted for candidates good for Israel, but also focused on other issues
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 11.08.06/ Israel News
WASHINGTON – American Jews expressed flagrant support for Democratic candidates for Congress, contributing to a turnaround in the House of Representatives. According to a CNN sampling of voters, 87 percent of Jewish voters voted Democrat.
This was the highest percentage of support for Democrats since the Republicans took over Congress in 1994.
The Republican Party tried to frighten Jewish voters during the election campaign, primarily with their ads in Jewish newspapers, but no one was buying.
In this election, Jews voted for candidates they thought would be good for Israel.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:05 pm
“Bob, Christianity is predicated on Jesus rising from the dead, he needed a little help getting into the tomb.”
lourdes, you is one messed up crack head.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:08 pm
“OK, you two fifth grade anti-Semites, go sell your Republistupid somewhere else:”
Again, who said anything racist or anti-semitic?
“Democratic Party wins largest percentage of Jewish support since 1994. Elections expert: Jews voted for candidates good for Israel, but also focused on other issues”
So why did they vote for Kerry and Obama? Both of them hate Israel.
What I find ironic is the fact that the democrat party has/had a member of the KKK in it yet people like Enormous H calls Republicans, racist.
“In this election, Jews voted for candidates they thought would be good for Israel.”
Oh well, looks like Obama turned out to be a bad hangover.
The left is for chicks
June 28th, 2010
5:08 pm
The gun thing pretty much over.Lefty lost. Even the full blown, criminal freaks and commies on democratic underground are split on the issue. Guns are not going away. And rightwingers? the same goes for abortion.
songbird
June 28th, 2010
5:08 pm
Also, Jews have been discriminated against in this country for years. My grandfather was not allowed to join the Country Club of VA because he was Jewish. This was a long time ago, but old habits die hard, and frankly the Republican Party doesn’t reach out to Jews in any specific way.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:09 pm
Enormous H
1: Point out any racist or anti-semitic comment from anyone on this blog.
2: Grow up.
3: Try to curb your hypocrisy.
Bottom line: It must suck to be you.
Bob Loblaw
June 28th, 2010
5:10 pm
“Also, Jews have been discriminated against in this country for years”
Yeah, by democrats like Obama who said he’d side with muslims over jews.
“My grandfather was not allowed to join the Country Club of VA because he was Jewish.”
And that has WHAT to do with conservatives?
“This was a long time ago, but old habits die hard, and frankly the Republican Party doesn’t reach out to Jews in any specific way.”
Yeah, except for giving Israel money, arms and humanitarian aid.