Essay:Gun Control Case
From Conservapedia
This is an analysis of the most significant case of the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court Term: the gun control case.
Question Presented
The U.S. Supreme Court's unusual rewriting of the question in its granting of certiorari in the big control case reveals that it is leaning in favor of a governmental power to impose gun control:
"Whether the following provisions — D.C. Code secs. 7-2502.02(a)(4), 22-4504(a), and 7-2507.02 — violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes?"
The conservative view is that it is irrelevant whether individuals are affiliated with a state-regulated militia. Putting that in the question suggests that the liberals already have the upper hand in this case, though not with American voters.[1]
Contrary Opinion
Perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court is merely framing the issue without prejudging it. The Court will undoubtedly begin with the unanimous (but notoriously ambiguous) Miller case of 1939.[2]
As the Miller case has been interpreted, the Second Amendment protects persons who, and/or weapons which, have "some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia."
Therefore, it is already a given that individuals who are affiliated with a state-regulated militia have Second Amendment rights. The Court does not need to revisit that question.
The D.C. case presents the question whether "individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia" also have Second Amendment rights. The Court may frame the issue as whether the Miller case should be extended to cover this new class of persons who are outside the scope of constitutional protection as described in the Miller case.
A former clerk for Justice Kennedy predicts he is likely to bridge the left-right divide on gun rights.[3]
References
- ↑ "The third rail. Iowans are noticing the candidates don't say much on gun control." [1]
- ↑ http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0307_0174_ZS.html
- ↑ http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2007_11_18-2007_11_24.shtml#1195588501
