Monday, October 13, 2008

Post-Heller Gun Lawsuits

As they say, bring lawyers, guns & money...from the ABA Journal:
Gun proponents say the Second Amendment’s freshly blessed individual right already enjoys fundamental status. “The Heller decision suggests that if a case arises, the 14th Amendment would apply,” says Stephen J. Halbrook of Fairfax, Va., a veteran litigator for the NRA and one of the lawyers in the Chicago challenge. Schenck says his clients also are exploring incorporation arguments under the Ninth and 10th amendments, which reserve for the people or the states, respectively, all rights that the Con stitution does not expressly grant the federal government.

Beyond incorporation and with an ordinance so similar to the one struck down in Heller, the Chicago ban’s future could be dim. Solomon acknowledges that the city hadn’t fully considered substantive issues in the weeks immediately after the Supreme Court spoke. But she adds that the city has no plans to roll over. “I expect we will have more than one argument,” she says.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Section 3 of the 14th also states this:

No one shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President.... who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

Obama/Ayers ???

Anonymous said...

“I expect we will have more than one argument,” she says.

And I expect they will be weak, incomplete, and contradict each other.

Anonymous said...

“The Heller decision suggests..."

Great, but it takes more than a suggestion to keep one out of prison with the Brady Bunch bent on incarcerating as many people as possible for gun law violations.
The Second Amendment needs teeth. I suggest a federal law that mandates a fine of up to $25 million dollars and up to 25 years in prison for government officials who violate, or even conspire to violate, the Second Amendment. What would constitute a violation of the Second Amendment? Let those government officials worry about that, as gun owners have had to worry about ambiguities in laws that have been applied to gun owners.