Supreme Court to hear DC gun ban case
Posted on November 20th, 2007 by bile Categories and Tags: Uncategorized, 2nd Amendment, Bob Levy, CATO, crime, District of Columbia, freedom, guns, law students, liberty, politics, property, Supreme Court, Washington DChttp://www.cato-at-liberty.org/…
The Supreme Court just announced that it will decide a landmark lawsuit concerning the constitutionality of the District of Columbia’s ban on guns. This is terrific news. My colleague, Bob Levy, senior fellow in constitutional studies here at Cato, is the prime mover behind the lawsuit. The whole idea of challenging the DC ban several years ago was to get a good Second Amendment case to the Supreme Court, i.e. plaintiffs who were responsible people who simply wanted to keep a handgun in their home for self-defense purposes. The Court will be hearing arguments in the case early next year and we can expect a ruling in the case by late June.
For a quick podcast interview with Bob Levy about the lawsuit, go here (or subscribe via iTunes). To listen to or watch a Cato policy forum about the lawsuit, go here. For Cato scholarship about the right to keep and bear arms, go here. For lawyers and law students interested in all the details about the lawsuit, go here and here.
As a gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter I’m very excited to see this occur. Unfortunately it’s a mixed excitement. If the court rules it unconstitutional than we’ve won the argument that the 2nd Amendment applies to individuals. However, an opposite ruling could destroy all gains we’ve made in the past few years and put us on a path to state gun ban legislation. Both sides seem just as enthusiastic about this upcoming ruling which gives me pause. Usually one side knows it’s probably wrong and is reluctant to push the issue. June is a long time away to wait for the outcome. This is quite topical given yesterday was Nation Ammo Day and I got my shipment of 100 rounds in the mail along with my venison sticks. Regardless of what happens in this case I have no plans on living anywhere that will prohibit owning guns.
5 Responses to “Supreme Court to hear DC gun ban case”
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November 20th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
It’s pretty amazing that you have to put beef in farmed game meat. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose?
November 20th, 2007 at 6:13 pm
Where’s that? I see elk, venison and buffalo.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:22 pm
Under your venison link it reads:
It implies that they have to put beef in them. That’s not cool. You really should be able to sell any kind of meat you want. Speaking of meat legislation did you ever read "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair?
November 20th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
I haven’t read it so I can’t make a real judgment on it, but what I’ve read about it make Upton Sinclair sound like some proto-Micheal Moore. People have accused him of exaggerating the horrors in the book which then led to a chain of events that ended with the creation of the FDA. Hopefully I’ll have some time and motivation to look into it myself someday.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:48 am
I’d encourage you to read it some time. I have it if you ever decide you want to borrow it. Mr. Sinclair does a nice job of appealing to people’s emotions and depicting the despicable. He kind of reminds me of Russian authors in that way. On the topic of books that cause social change I’d also recommend you read Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She does a similar good job of pulling on heart stings. It’s also a somewhat entertaining read.
By the way listening to the Warrant song is not equivalent.