I was a happy boy this morning. The Supreme Court affirmed what conservatives knew all along – the Second Amendment to the Constitution affords American citizens the right to bear arms. Go figure!
The 5-4 majority opinion was authored by Antoin Scalia and joined by Justices Thomas, Roberts, Alito and Kennedy. Thank you Mister President for giving us Alito and Roberts. What a relief. Here is the decision in a nutshell.
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by “the historical narrative” both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.
The Constitution does not permit “the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home,” Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington’s requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, but left intact the licensing of guns.
Scalia noted that the handgun is Americans’ preferred weapon of self-defense in part because “it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.”
Scalia’s opinion dealt almost exclusively with self-defense in the home, acknowledging only briefly in his lengthy historical analysis that early Americans also valued gun rights because of hunting.
The brevity of Scalia’s treatment of gun ownership for hunting and sports-shooting is explained by the case before the court. The Washington law at issue, like many gun control laws around the country, concerns heavily populated areas, not hunting grounds.
I will echo the sentiment of other conservative commentators in expressing my disbelief that 4 justices actually dissented. The Second Amendment is clear. And the writings of our forefathers clearly place this into proper context.
Nevertheless – here we go again. This was a 5-4 decision. Are you folks beginning to understand the stakes in November? The person we elect as President will make nominations that will make a difference for a long time to come. Conservatives have no room for error.
steveflesher
Philip
Mel Maguire
Mark Ciavola
Comments
I am so happy about this! I heard it on the way back home today and I am thrilled that we have returned to the true meaning of the Constitution to an extent.
Now, if we can just get the justices to stop granting Constitutional rights to non-citizens who want to kill us, we’d be perfect!
This is wonderful! I’ve been waiting for this one for a long time.
And, yes, Anthony Kennedy actually came over to our side. That man is gonna be the death of me. I can’t figure him out.
Philip – dude, you live in TEXAS! Where spanking and guns are protected rights! I live right outside DC, and let me tell you I’m ecstatic on this one.
Now if someone will just bring in a duty to retreat case so that we can get that idiotic drivel wiped out totally…
And may I also add that as a hand gun owner and the “mom” of a pit bull that sleeps with my youngest daughter, I feel very, very safe at night. Even when AFG is TDY or deployed.
Oh, and I think Kennedy needs bipolar meds, myself.
W00Hoo!!!
DAMN THOSE LIBERAL ACTIVIST JUDGES!!!!
It just gets better too. The San Francisco Housing Authority is being sued because of the rule against gun posession in the properties it owns. If you live in a Housing Project then you probably need a gun or two or dozen.
To all of the naysayers I’ll quote Archie Bunker on gun control, “Would you feel better little girl if they was pushed out of windows?”
To top it off, however, the DC Mayor was quoted as saying (paraphrased) that all laws will remain in effect until they can figure out a way for lawful registration of the fire arms. Silly Liberals, when are they gonna learn its a Right, meaning, it is a God given nature of our humanity to be able to self defend and not something given to us by the consent of the governed. I think Jefferson and Madison won that argument over Hamilton a long time ago.
They will never learn and we must remember that liberty belongs to the belligerent that claim it. Someone should have stood up a long time ago.