Today the penultimate case in the decades long battle over the 2nd Amendment is being presented before The Supreme Court of the United States of America. McDonald v. City of Chicago will finally decide the question: Does the regulation and legislation of the inalienable right of the 2nd Amendment lie within the hands of the Federal Government or the hands of the individual States?
For more than 25 years now, anti-gun lobbyists and the left-wing fringe have tried to impose gun regulations and bans based on a notion that the meaning and intent of the 2nd Amendment was up to interpretation, and that there was no clear judicial interpretation or precedent of either the Amendment itself or of the Founding Fathers' intent.
Today, as The Supreme Court hears McDonald v. City of Chicago, they will have to make that judicial interpretation. Even though their decision isn't expected until the end of June, they will have to decide--once and for all--what the 2nd Amendment means.
It's a Right the Left needs to stay out of.
In 2008, the Supreme Court's ruling on District of Columbia v. Heller decided that it was an individuals right to "keep and bear arms." It also decided that handguns were indeed "arms." It further stated that the Federal Government did not have the right to dictate to an individual citizen whether they could:
A. Have firearms within their household for private use.
B. Store a loaded firearm within said household.
C. Regulate or Legislate terms on the functionality of a firearm (e.g., disassembly or trigger-locks.) within said household.
Although it seemed like a major breakthrough, the victory was bittersweet. Even though it did break ground on the issue, the decision only referred to Federal Enclaves (Washington, D.C.), it did not specify whether or not this should apply to States, Counties, or Cities. Because the District of Columbia was a Federal Enclave, the city was using that as a loophole to allow for the ban.
It was also stated by the court:
"Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment, nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms."
McDonald v. City of Chicago will now have to decide whether a State or any other ruling body has the right to regulate or legislate gun policy other than The United States Government. Additionally, NRA v. City of Chicago is being heard separately, but in conjunction with McDonald. The NRA's case will pose the question of the constitutionality of a regulation which disallows the registration of handguns.
The Supreme Justices seemed to be all over the map today while hearing McDonald v. City of Chicago, which means not only will the final decision be interesting, there will be a lot of finger-crossing, teeth-gritting, and hand-wringing going on up to the last minute. However, given the scope of District of Columbia v. Heller, and its direct ruling on the classification of handguns being "arms," I predict a ruling will be made in the NRA's favor on NRA v. City of Chicago.
