Well, after reading the ruling, all 215 pgs. including the dissent, written by Justice Stevens, (who is a scary guy), I thought I would cite a thankfully rational, and true Justice.
Justice Alito, who GETS IT..
And the Court’s approach intrudes less upon the democratic process because the rights it acknowledges are those established by a constitutional history formed by democratic decisions; and the rights it fails to acknowledge are left to be democratically adopted or rejected by the people, with the assurance that their decision is not subject to judicial revision.
JUSTICE STEVENS’ approach, on the other hand, deprives the people of that power, since whatever the Constitution and laws may say, the list of protected rights will be whatever courts wish it to be.
After all, he notes, the people have been wrong before, post, at 55, and courts may conclude they are wrong in the future. JUSTICE STEVENS abhors a system in which “majorities or powerful interest groups always get their way,” post, at 56, but replaces it with a system in which unelected and life tenured judges always get their way. That such usurpation is effected unabashedly, see post, at 53—with “the judge’s cards . . . laid on the table,” ibid.—makes it even worse. In a vibrant democracy, usurpation should have to be accomplished in the dark.
It is JUSTICE STEVENS’ approach, not the Court’s, that puts democracy in peril.
JUSTICE STEVENS next suggests that the Second Amendment right is not fundamental because it is “different in kind” from other rights we have recognized. Post, at
37. In one respect, of course, the right to keep and bear arms is different from some other rights we have held the Clause protects and he would recognize: It is deeply grounded in our nation’s history and tradition. But JUSTICE STEVENS has a different distinction in mind: Even though he does “not doubt for a moment that many Americans . . . see [firearms] as critical to their way of life as well as to their security,”
he pronounces that owning a handgun is not “critical to leading a life of autonomy,dignity, or political equality.”6 Post, at 37–38.
Who says?
***
It's not just Independence Day to celebrate our rejection of the tyranny of King George, but this year, to renew our Independence against a bunch of usurping bast****.
"There are three reasons to own a gun: To protect yourself and your family, to hunt dangerous and delicious animals, and to keep the King of England/
Federal Gov't, out of your face."
Krusty the Clown
italics by tw
MBTV
Forum Index
Help
Calendar
Contact Info
Register as a member
