DC v. Heller Decision

[Marshal Halloway]

NRA Moves on Chicago Ban; McCain Slams Chicago
The NRA has stated on Fox News that they are moving immediately against the Chicago handgun ban in the wake of the Heller decision.
Read more on Michael's blog

[Hazcat]

Excellent!

[Michael Bane]

I have waited a lot of years to hear these words...

Michael B

[pioneer]

Great news indeed, but the fight is not over. This ruling, as it was designed, is just the first step. Now that we have this ruling that the 2nd Amendment is an individual right, we can now go forward with the fight to define "reasonable" restrictions.

Celebrate, by all means, but don't get complacent. The anti gunners are still with us, and they are very well funded and motivated.

Join in the fight.  Join the NRA

[Pathfinder]

Judicial Monarchy!

Only a 5 to 4 decision?

This wasn't about the constitution or case law. This was purely about political ideology. We have seen too many 5 to 4 decisions to think that the justices are concerned about anything but politics. There are 4 conservative judges and 4 liberal judges, and they are way too predictable about how they will side. Kennedy is the only middle of the road judge that is capable of being impartial. As he goes, so goes the decisions of the court. 

This makes me sick. This was a clear cut constitutional decision to be made (forget about the crime statistics and whats best for the citizens). Only a 5 to 4 decision? We are truly living in a Judicial Monarchy! 

That was my first reaction as well - only 5-4? We were a Justice Kennedy away from losing this folks, and the Bradys et al. will use that to justify - somehow - draconian measures in other locales that will then take expensive lawsuits to overturn - assuming the judiciary recognizes the SCOTUS ruling. Remember that mope judge Weinstein in NYC who ignored Federal law and allowed Bloomberg's anti-gun case to continue against the gun manufacturers - only to be overturned, but more money spent to show the judge he was wrong.

Judicial tyranny indeed!      

[Sponsor]

[blackwolfe]

Marshal, Michael, and Co.  A big thank you for keeping us posted and up to date and for all the other hard work you do on this site.  And also to Marshal'ette.
The first skirmish has just been won and has set the course for the remainder of the war.

[1776 Rebel]

DDMack asked if Washington DC was a "shall issue" entity now. That is real interesting. New York state is a descretionary issue state. The implications of this decision are going to be bouncing around for decades. But bless Scalia's heart. He clearly drove the good guy side of the decision.

[tombogan03884]

That was my first reaction as well - only 5-4? We were a Justice Kennedy away from losing this folks, and the Bradys et al. will use that to justify - somehow - draconian measures in other locales that will then take expensive lawsuits to overturn - assuming the judiciary recognizes the SCOTUS ruling. Remember that mope judge Weinstein in NYC who ignored Federal law and allowed Bloomberg's anti-gun case to continue against the gun manufacturers - only to be overturned, but more money spent to show the judge he was wrong.

Judicial tyranny indeed!      

Remember, during the Revolution, after initial victories in Concord and forcing the British out of Boston we got our butts kicked a lot, until we finally won at Yorktown. This is the begining of a long fight toward victory. But like the British withdrawal from Boston it is the victory that will make all the others possible. 

[Marshal Halloway]

Some reactions to the historic Supreme Court ruling in D.C. v. Heller:

• Paul Helmke of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence says "this opinion still allows commonsense gun control laws, restrictions to make us all safer." He expects to see more challenges to existing restrictions on gun ownership.

• The Chicago Tribune says that state's "gun-rights activists have said they expect to mount a quick legal challenge to the Chicago Weapons Ordinance."

• Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, says in a statement that he welcomes the decision. "Today’s ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans," he says. "Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today’s ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right -- sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly."

• Slow down, Washingtonians. D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles tells The Washington Post that this morning's Supreme Court ruling doesn't mean you can just run out and buy a handgun. "All handguns have to be registered," Nickles said before the ruling was announced. He says the police department will issue new regulations within a month.

• Wayne LaPierre, a top official at the National Rifle Association, says his group will file lawsuits in San Francisco and Chicago, among other places. "I consider this the opening salvo in a step-by-step process of providing relief for law-abiding Americans everywhere that have been deprived of this freedom," he tells the Associated Press.

• Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, the House Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, calls the decision "one of the most important rulings in our lifetime."

• Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Judiciary Committee, says people in his state "will be relieved and encouraged to see their rights recognized." "This opinion should usher in a new era in which the constitutionality of government regulations of firearms are reviewed against the backdrop of this important right," he says in a statement.

• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says in a statement that "fighting illegal guns has nothing to do with the Second Amendment rights of Americans." He says local officials "have a responsibility to crack down on illegal guns and punish gun criminals, and it is encouraging that the Supreme Court recognizes the constitutionality of reasonable regulations that allow for us to carry out those responsibilities."

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says the ruling destroys decades of precedent. "I think it opens this nation to a dramatic lack of safety," she says in a statement.

• Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, praised the ruling. "The Constitution plainly guarantees the solemn right to keep and bear arms, and the whims of politically-correct bureaucrats cannot take it away,” the House Republican leader says in a statement.

Source: USA Today

[Marshal Halloway]

In an e-mail from
Eric Cantor, United States Congressman

The hard work of millions of Second Amendment rights advocates has paid off in a tremendous way.  Earlier today, in perhaps the most significant Second Amendment court decision in over 60 years, the U.S. Supreme Court shot down Washington, D.C.'s 32-year-old ban on hand guns. It affirmed that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their family and their home.  The ruling today will cast fresh light on the constitutionality of several other bans on firearms around the country. 
 

This historic moment could not have been possible without the groundswell of attention and awareness you helped create. 
 
As we move forward, we must remember the importance of appointing judges who respect our laws and interpret the Constitution as it was intended; our liberties and freedoms must never be compromised. This effort was a major victory for liberty.