Is anyone worried about the Supreme court review ?

Question

Of the DC handgun ban? If they overturn the lower court decision it could mean the end of our second amendment rights

CB The lower court ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right. If that decision is overturned it would effect ownership of ALL firearms.Not just handguns.

Dayna A Oh gee, I forgot, If handgins are illegal all the criminals will turn in theirs right away!! How naieve can you possibly be ?

Oberon, well said my good man.

Answer 1

No, I feel pretty confident about it. The supreme court will side with the gun owners, and they will just say to add stipulations on who qualifies for the rights in places like DC. An armed guard should always be allowed to bring his gun home. All the cops, FBI, CIA, and the million other government employees in DC that have guns bring them home.

Answer 2

Not worried. Everywhere else a right is enumerated, it's an individual one. There's no reason to imagine the "collective right" argument could possibly hold water, when it could have been phrased differently had that been the intent. I can see Scalia or Thomas blowing a gasket over the whole concept. It's just too absurd to fly. Besides, the Court knows how the country feels about this, and remember the "Republican
revolution" after the "assault weapons" ban that didn't mention assault weapons but interfered with so many others that the Democrats took years to recover from the political fallout.

Answer 3

This issue has festered in the courts for years and it is time the Supreme Court brings clarity to it. For conservative judges, it is a no-brainer that the lower court made the right call that the handgun ban is unconstitutional.

For strict Constitutional judges, it gets dicey, based on the interpretation.....an individual's right to own guns or does the Second Amendment merely allow the collective right of states to maintain militias.

I am not worried. I believe the court is taking a bold step to hear the case and will rule that the people's right to bear arms is essential to our freedom and based upon the Second Amendment to the Constitution.

Answer 4

Irreguardless of what happens, I'm not going to give up my Constitutional rights to bear arms.

Thomas Jefferson's words did really eliminate any doubt in the purpose of the second amendment when he said:
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government"
And again in the Jefferson Papers, p. 334:
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms"


George Washington also said, and this one's also very, very important:
"Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the people's liberty teeth keystone... the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable... more than 99% of them by their silence indicate that they are in safe and sane hands. The very atmosphere of firearms everywhere restrains evil interference. When firearms go, all goes, we need them every hour."

This describes what would be an UNALIENABLE RIGHT to bear arms, even without reading the whole of the constitution.

Without the second, the fourth no longer matters, and could easily be overturned as well. The second will easily be taken away from us, even with the internet, and the rest will certainly fade away over time.

A decision that the individual is no longer permited to own a bit of metal and wood or plastic is rediculous. If such a decision is made, I'm not going to agree with it, and will not respect it. I've already gone to local dealers and stocked up on ammunition, just in case. Then again, if this all does blow over, I'll just have to shoot targets.

Answer 5

The thing that worries me is that the news media treat the 2nd Amendment discussion calling it a "controversy".

What they fail to bring to light is that after the Constitution was written these men discussed it for years and every single one, every one, stated that the Right to Keep and Bear Arms was most certainly an individual right. Some even considered it a civic duty.

Answer 6

YES--I'm worried.However,when the constitution was written,smart bombs,jet planes,WMD didn't exist.The fact that the people then could raise a greater army to ensure against a corrupt gov't is still true--there are more civilians than military--however,the fight wouldn't be quite fair.So really,we all know our gov't isn't completely honest,but cannot do anything about it.At least not the way our founding fathers imagined it.We are okay for now,probably,but for how long....Anyone with any sense knows that dishonest people will find ways to kill each other.Hell,I could make something out of firecrackers and gravel and a steel pipe that would work,if guns were gone.Enforcement of existing laws and full sentences for gun-related offenses is an obvious direction to take.------------- For the anti-hunting lady.--Hunting/Fishing licenses fund almost every effort to preserve wildlife.Although we shoot some species,like deer(none if populations don't allow),the money goes to agents,fish stocking programs,etc.Hunters are the only management tool for deer population control.Deer numbers are higher now than when settlers arrived,because people got tired of wolves and big cats snatching their kids.They killed them all.There is no predator for deer in much of their range.We kill 1/3 of our deer every year just to keep populations stable.How would you like nationwide speed limits to drop because car/deer fatalities were so high?You would be afraid to drive over 30 after dark anywhere in the U.S.--Be silent if you are uninformed / haven't pondered the effects of suggesting such a ridiculous thing,hon..

Answer 7

I find the whole situation disgraceful. We are allowed to carry, buy, possess, etc...guns...for whatever reasons.

They are stating that the Right to Bear and Keep Arms only applies to militias. BUT...in many places militias are illegal.

BUT..again another but....we are bound by the Constitution AND Declaration of Independence to maintain militias in order to keep our government on track. We have the right, ney, the responsibility to correct any problem within our government, if not by votes and words....then by force.


But, back to this situation.....the man fighting is a security guard in DC. He carries a gun at work, but can not have one to protect his home. He doesn't live in the best neighborhood. I mean, just 5 block behind the Supreme Court, which is just 6 block behind the Capital building...is the ghetto of DC. Ironic, huh? Well, I've walked those streets at night...not very friendly, let me tell you.

I really hope the justices do their job and keep our rights that our fore fathers DIED for as sacred now as the day Thomas Jefferson first penned them.

Answer 8

I find it amusing that DC says they need this law to keep their people safe and yet they have one of the very highest murder rates in the country. But this isn't a new ban, they have had it for years so it has already been shown not to work.

California has strong anti gun legislation, so that has made Oakland safe then? No? MA has strong laws so that would make Dorchester and Roxbury safe? No! Not there either. DC has strong anto gun laws and they also have high violent crimes. Seems more like places with bans have worse crime.

Answer 9

It is impossible to ban handguns or any type of guns. If it passes, how will they enforce it? By taking hand guns away from registered owners. They will not take them away from criminals or gang bangers. And also, they cannot prevent anyone from taking guns into the DC area unless they search every single vehicle that passes through the DC area.

Answer 10

the 2ND amendment was written a long time ago, at a time of government unrest... it was written to make sure that the people would be able to overthrow the government if it had gained to much power over the people of the country.. read the whole amendment, it reads, about that, near the end...O and according to the amendment, the right to bear arms was given to the people by a higher power than the government...AND WILL NOT BE INFRINGED