DC v. Heller

A lot of cool stuff has been going down at the Supreme Court these last couple weeks. This week there was yet another Gitmo oral argument, and a major foreign law/state's rights case came down (Medellin v. Texas). These are really awesome cases and you don't have to be a lawyer or an expert or anything to understand them and their importance.

Last week saw oral arguments in DC v. Heller, possibly the most controversial case this term (with the possible exception of the Gitmo cases). This is the case involving the 2nd amendment. Here's a description of the facts surrounding the case:

For the first time in seventy years, the Court will hear a case regarding the central meaning of the Second Amendment and its relation to gun control laws. After the District of Columbia passed legislation barring the registration of handguns, requiring licenses for all pistols, and mandating that all legal firearms must be kept unloaded and disassembled or trigger locked, a group of private gun-owners brought suit claiming the laws violated their Second Amendment right to bear arms. The federal trial court in Washington D.C. refused to grant the plaintiffs relief, holding that the Second Amendment applies only to militias, such as the National Guard, and not to private gun ownership. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit disagreed, voting two to one that the Second Amendment does in fact protect private gun owners such as plaintiffs. Petitioners agree with the trial court's decision that the Second Amendment applies only to militias, and further argue that (a) the Second Amendment should not apply to D.C. because it is a federal enclave rather than a state, and (b) that the D.C. legislation merely regulates, rather than prohibits, gun ownership. Respondents, although disagreeing on the merits, have also urged the Court to review the case in order to clearly define the relationship between federal gun control laws and the Second Amendment.

How profound: nine people trying to take words from another world (a world now over two hundred years old) and apply them now in a practical and faithful way. If you get a chance, I highly recommend listening to the oral argument. It'll be great to see where they come down on this one...

Oral Argument

Chice