This observation from David Hardy on the Second Amendment is one of the smartest and important things I read all weekend:
In law school, we were told to be careful what we ask for, because the fates may give us just that. If the Supreme Court upholds a broad Second Amendment right, tens of millions of gun-owning Americans will be reminded of the high court’s role as protector of their Constitution.
If it goes the other way, those millions will be asking how arms ownership, expressly mentioned in that document, is unprotected while abortion (no where mentioned) is broadly protected.
They will come to believe that the Constitution is merely a paper covering for arbitrary judicial rule. This is not a lesson we want taught in a democracy.
The quickest way our government and our courts could ensure a complete revolution would be to repeal — in any way, shape, or form — our guns. I know a lot of people who very literally subscribe to the “you can have my gun when you pry me cold dead fingers from it” school of thought.
I’m one of them.
h/t to Instapundit
Personally, I subscribe to the “you can have my guns, but first kindly accept my ammo.”
It will be interesting to see what will happen, and it will most likely rest on the shoulders of one jurist to break the tie.
There is much scholarly work, and extensive research on original intent, for the SCOTUS to draw on, and to me it would appear to be a slam dunk, and about time we got around to settling this matter, but we will have to wait and see.
In the meantime, there is this interesting mental cramp brought on by the deep-thinkers and writers at the Harvard Crimson.
Left by no2liberals on December 3rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm