Redstate

Posted at 10:30am on Jun. 23, 2008 Waiting For Heller

Is There A Gun In My Tea Leaves?

By Dan McLaughlin

The Supreme Court's Term is likely to end this Wednesay or Thursday. I noted last Thursday, with the usual cautions about this kind of thing, SCOTUSBlog's observation that Justice Scalia was the most likely Justice to be writing the Court's opinion in DC v. Heller, given that only he and Justice Souter had yet to write majority opinions from cases the Court heard in March. Well, this morning the Court handed down the other remaining case from the March sitting, and it was written by Justice Souter. So the odds would seem now to strongly favor Justice Scalia.

How good is that news for fans of the Second Amendment? Well, it's unlikely that a Scalia opinion will be a bad one when an express provision of the Constitution is involved, but bear in mind that (1) even if he does write the opinion, there's no guarantee that it will be a majority opinion; it could be a plurality that leaves matters more unsettled than ever (e.g., 4 Justices favoring a strong individual right, 4 supporting DC's position, and 1 - usually Justice Kennedy, under the Court's current alignment - refusing to join either side's analysis) and (2) it's very possible that the Court will decide only the scope of the right against federal interference under the unique legal status of the District of Columbia, and won't address the thornier issue of whether the Second Amendment prohibits gun control measures by state governments. And of course, the guesswork could simply be wrong - even if Justice Scalia was originally assigned the opinion, it could end up as a dissent if some Justices changed their minds before it was finalized.

In other words: we can guess all we like, but until we see the opinion we can't know.

Posted in D.C. v. Heller | gun control | Justice Scalia | Law | Second Amendment — Comments (6)/ Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 11:11am on Apr. 30, 2008 Second Circuit Dismisses Bloomberg Gun Lawsuit

By Dan McLaughlin

Opinion in Bloomberg v. Beretta U.S.A. here. Basically, the court found that the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act is a constitutional exercise of Congress' Commerce power, doesn't violate the 10th Amendment, and bars New York City's lawsuit seeking under state law to enjoin gun manufacturers' lawful firearms sales on the grounds th

Posted in Commerce Clause | Federalism | gun control | Law | Mike Bloomberg — Comments (24) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 8:39am on Jan. 14, 2008 Sign the Petition and Help Protect Our Second Amendment Rights

By Rep. Eric Cantor

In a great victory for the American People, the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the DC handgun ban saying it was a violation of the second amendment. For the first time in years a court held that the second amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms. The United States Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Defenders of the second amendment have been working hard for just this moment in history for years.

Last Friday, the United States Solicitor General filed formal briefs asking the Supreme Court not to affirm the lower court's decision. This is just outrageous. The Solicitor General is the Federal Government’s lawyer. So, now we have the federal government using our tax dollars to argue for a delay on a ruling concerning our fundamental rights.

Let your voice be heard - sign the petition today.

Please read on.

Posted in 2nd Amendment | gun control | Policy — Comments (57) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 5:48pm on Apr. 22, 2007 Parents, if you value your children, don't send them to George Washington University

By Jeff Emanuel

Appearing on Fox News Sunday today in the wake of the Virginia Tech massacre, GWU president Steve Trachtenberg "boasted that at GWU, not only are the faculty and students disarmed, but so are the campus security officers."

You know, of course, what this means: should there (God forbid) be a similar event at GWU as there was last Monday at VT, the powers-that-be would be powerless to act - and the only way to end the loss of life would be for the murderer to fire away until he runs out of ammo.

Comforting?

Posted at 7:27pm on Mar. 24, 2007 Georgia Legislature to vote on Gun Bill Tuesday

By Younce

The Georgia Senate has an important 2nd Amendment vote coming up on Tuesday. SB 43 is a bill to help solidify a person’s right to defend themselves. According to an NRA alert here, SB 43 will do the following:

• …employees may leave a firearm in their locked motor vehicle while on their employer’s property;
• Provides employers with protection from civil liability for the actions of criminals;
• Does not authorize an employee to have a firearm outside the vehicle; and
• Does not authorize an employee to have a firearm in a secure parking facility.

This is a common sense bill that will allow citizens to protect themselves while traveling to and from work.

Unfortunately, Wal-Mart and business organizations like the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Georgia Association of Realtors are fighting this bill. They are using the scare tactics that a gun will be used on the property and the business owner will be sued because they “should have known” a person was likely to commit a crime.

This is typical of the anti-gun movement that tries to make anyone that wants to have a firearm for protection as a zealot who will use a gun for crimes.

If you are from Georgia, call your State Senator and encourage them to vote for SB 43. You can find the contact information for your Senator here (scroll down).

UPDATE by Erick: Tuesday is "Cross Over Day" in the Georgia General Assembly. Legislation that does not pass one house of the legislature that day automatically dies. The General Assembly is likely, in the hell that is Cross Over Day, to pay attention to the demand of vocal voters and get stuff out of their chamber and across the hall. So get on the phone if you support this.

Posted in Georgia | gun control | State Politics — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Read More »