Heller Affirmed! (Discuss Supreme Court Decision here)

[Lugnut]

Maybe for sheeple. What is an unloaded firearm going to do?

I enjoy your passion on this topic.

 

[O/U]

Not that I like to split hairs, but its really the manatory use of trigger locks that is unconstitutional. Some sort of locking mechanism on the firearms you are currently storing is still a pretty good idea.

I agree 100%. As a parent, even if the MA safe storage law is struck down my guns stay in the safe and my HD pistols are ready to go in the GunVaults.

I applaud the Court for ruling that these storage laws are unconstitutional, but I still view locking up firearms unless they are under your control as a matter of common sense.

 

[Patriot]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

 

[clinotus]

It may be objected that if weapons that are most useful in military service—M-16 rifles and the like—may be banned, then the Second Amendment right is completely detached from the prefatory clause. But as we have said, the conception of the militia at the time of the Second Amendment’s ratification was the body of all citizens capable of military service, who would bring the sorts of lawful weapons that they possessed at home to militia duty. It may well be true today that a militia, to be as effective as militias in the 18th century, would require sophisticated arms that are highly unusual in society at large. Indeed, it may be true that no amount of small arms could be useful against modern-day bombers and tanks. But the fact that modern developments have limited the degree of fit between the prefatory clause and the protected right cannot change our interpretation of the right.

Miller...???
Mill_er????
Miller???
/bueller

 

[EZEKIEL 25:17]

Maybe for sheeple. What is an unloaded firearm going to do?

I was not referring to all your guns hell, if you have 50 and keep them all loaded about the house for self defense great. I was just suggesting that if were not using one, locking it up is not a bad Idea. In no way am I saying lock them all up. Heck, I only have 2 hands.

 

[FunYun]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

Funny, cause to me, that sounds like the best reason to keep a loaded gun handy. At any moment, some nutjob could come barging through my door.

 

[Edzo]

Great news for sure!

Still, in our little corner of freedom we still have the problem of the discretionary power of our local chief. So for example, if the safe storage laws in MA were overturned and a gun was stolen from a home the chief would still have the power to deem you "unsuitable".

The discretionary power of local chiefs in this state is grossly unconstitutional. Being a resident of a red town my restricted "license to carry" is a source of frustration, confusion and paranoia for me. I don't see Heller helping much on this issue, though I do hold out hope that someday this will change.

On the other hand, if I have an FID in Massachusetts, making me qualified to own a firearm, it would seem that I should not be restricted solely to non-high capacity long guns. That among legal firearms, there should be no distinction between handgun/long-gun.

But I am not so completely enamoured with this one:

"Undoubtedly some think that the Second Amendment
is outmoded in a society where our standing army is
the pride of our Nation, where well-trained police forces
provide personal security, and where gun violence is a
serious problem. That is perhaps debatable, but what is
not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to
pronounce the Second Amendment extinct."

It seems to leave that question for a future court to pronounce.

I believe they mean if it is outmoded, then a constitutional amendment is the only recourse.

 

[EZEKIEL 25:17]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

I am sill undecided whether its Breyer or Stevens.

 

[dbhn]

Funny, cause to me, that sounds like the best reason to keep a loaded gun handy. At any moment, some nutjob could come barging through my door.

Yes, it is truly amazing how the crazy liberals think the exact opposite of basic common sense.

 

[OnTheRoad]

Still reading the PDF. But in the meantime I have a new sig line...

 

[lagrangian]

ALL states must adhere to the US Constitution. States CAN NOT make a law (and uphold it) that directly VIOLATES the US Constitution!

The Bill of Rights only applies to states when SCOTUS says it does (this is the "incorporation via the 14th Amendment" doctrine). If SCOTUS doesn't rule that the 2A applies to the states (and it did not do so in Heller, at least not explicitly), then it doesn't.

 

[O/U]

On the other hand, if I have an FID in Massachusetts, making me qualified to own a firearm, it would seem that I should not be restricted solely to non-high capacity long guns. That among legal firearms, there should be no distinction between handgun/long-gun.

Excellent point.

 

[peterpressure]

and the meltdown at DU kicks into high gear:

What kids me about the DU comment is, Didnt Bush side with DC??

Cheney did not I know, but the comment makes no sense dragging Bush into this...

 

[Admin]

I was not referring to all your guns hell, if you have 50 and keep them all loaded about the house for self defense great. I was just suggesting that if were not using one, locking it up is not a bad Idea. In no way am I saying lock them all up. Heck, I only have 2 hands.

Gotcha. Yes I agree, I just can't stand hearing people saying "LOCK'EM ALL UP, If not someone will get hurt"

 

[lagrangian]

If SCOTUS doesn't rule that the 2A applies to the states (and it did not do so in Heller, at least not explicitly), then it doesn't.

Here's the contents of footnote 23 from the majority opinion:

With respect to Cruikshank’s continuing validity on incorporation, a question not presented by this case, we note that Cruikshank also said that the First Amendment did not apply against the States and did not engage in the sort of Fourteenth Amendment inquiry required by our later cases. Our later decisions in Presser v. Illinois, 116 U. S. 252, 265 (1886) and Miller v. Texas, 153 U. S. 535, 538 (1894), reaffirmed that the Second Amendment applies only to the Federal Government.

I'll leave it to the lawyers in the forums to decode that.

 

[Admin]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

That's pretty scary.

 

[EZEKIEL 25:17]

Originally Posted by Edzo
On the other hand, if I have an FID in Massachusetts, making me qualified to own a firearm, it would seem that I should not be restricted solely to non-high capacity long guns. That among legal firearms, there should be no distinction between handgun/long-gun.

Yes, I think that a future lawsuit could call into question the licensing/ownership tie that MA currently maintains.

 

[N.E. CHARTERS]

DU ?

DU?

Ducks Unlimeted?

I thought they were the good guys.

 

[edirtyfour]

DU?

Ducks Unlimeted?

I thought they were the good guys.

I think that they are referring to Democratic Underground.

 

[EZEKIEL 25:17]

Well at least McCain isn't a total wenie

From the globe:

"Today’s decision is a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States. For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. I applaud this decision as well as the overturning of the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns and limitations on the ability to use firearms for self-defense.

“Unlike Senator Obama, who refused to join me in signing a bipartisan amicus brief, I was pleased to express my support and call for the ruling issued today. 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. 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"

- John McCain


Uhhh John......WTF is McCain Feingold all about then?

 

[The Village Idiot]

DU?

Ducks Unlimeted?

I thought they were the good guys.

No they were referring to Depleted Uranium.

 

[jzrawlins]

I agree 100%. As a parent, even if the MA safe storage law is struck down my guns stay in the safe and my HD pistols are ready to go in the GunVaults.

I applaud the Court for ruling that these storage laws are unconstitutional, but I still view locking up firearms unless they are under your control as a matter of personal choice.

There, fixed that for you.

 

[JonnyG]

For you lawyer types that want more info about the ruling:
http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/07-290.pdf

 

[O/U]

There, fixed that for you.

I agree with you.

 

[edirtyfour]

I'll leave it to the lawyers in the forums to decode that.

That almost sounds like it is up to the individual states on whether or not they want the ruling to apply to them.

 

[pdm]

I have a safe to protect my investment in firearms, not because I believe my cats will start shooting each other.

Mostly because they don't have opposable thumbs.

 

[bpm990d]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

This screams for a motivational poster with his ugly mug and that drivel leaking out of his pie hole.

B

 

[peterpressure]

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., a leading gun control advocate in Congress, criticized the ruling. "I believe the people of this great country will be less safe because of it," she said.


The NRA will file lawsuits in San Francisco, Chicago and several of its suburbs challenging handgun restrictions there based on Thursday's outcome.

 

[sksguns]

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

The most dangerous person in America today.

maybe he should move to a crime-ridden urban area and then let us know what he thinks..........

 

[USMA-82]

I realize this is going to take a while to dissect and analyze and interpret, but meanwhile let me just say: