Gun Owners' Action League (GOAL) held a special event last night with Dave Kopel, co-author of The Heller Case: Gun Rights Affirmed, one of three attorneys who assisted in the presentation of oral arguments before the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling (District of Columbia v. Heller; Volume 554, Docket No. 07-290) last summer.
Mr. Kopel's short talk (~ 30 min.) and Q&A session (~ 20 min.) centered around what the legal world is like after the Heller decision (I was hoping he'd share his experiences working on this case). He said that the most important question to be answered is whether this decision applies to state and local governments. Over time, the Supreme Court slowly "changed it mind" and adopted a philosophy whereby the 14th Amendment did apply to the states. He also discussed three existing cases which may also make it to the Supreme Court in the next couple of years:
1. NY nunchaku ban
2. CA public property gun show ban
3. IL handgun ban
The most interesting statistic he cited was that ~ 80% of burglars in the U.S. enter homes when no one is home. This is because ~ 50% of homes have firearms and burglars don't want to risk getting shot. The secondary benefit from U.S. gun ownership is that is also prevents violent crime, reducing it by nearly 10%.
I purchased a book and had him sign it, asking him what was it like to get to work on this landmark case...he mentioned that he was extremely busy last January in preparation for oral arguments before the court last March. His book is not only thick (441 pp.) but dense (small fonts); if I get to reading it I'm not sure if I'll read every page as there is a lot of supplementary material (all 67 amicus briefs, summaries of 96 other gun cases, etc.). I may read certain sections to learn more about what the court decided in this case.
There were less than 40 people who came to this event...somewhat disappointing considering the significance of this case, the dismal state of anti-gun laws in Massachusetts and the opportunity to meet and schmooze with someone directly involved with winning this case. Overall it was a great event and it was nice to reconnect with folks and meet some new people. Thank you GOAL for making this event possible!
Mr. Kopel's short talk (~ 30 min.) and Q&A session (~ 20 min.) centered around what the legal world is like after the Heller decision (I was hoping he'd share his experiences working on this case). He said that the most important question to be answered is whether this decision applies to state and local governments. Over time, the Supreme Court slowly "changed it mind" and adopted a philosophy whereby the 14th Amendment did apply to the states. He also discussed three existing cases which may also make it to the Supreme Court in the next couple of years:
1. NY nunchaku ban
2. CA public property gun show ban
3. IL handgun ban
The most interesting statistic he cited was that ~ 80% of burglars in the U.S. enter homes when no one is home. This is because ~ 50% of homes have firearms and burglars don't want to risk getting shot. The secondary benefit from U.S. gun ownership is that is also prevents violent crime, reducing it by nearly 10%.
I purchased a book and had him sign it, asking him what was it like to get to work on this landmark case...he mentioned that he was extremely busy last January in preparation for oral arguments before the court last March. His book is not only thick (441 pp.) but dense (small fonts); if I get to reading it I'm not sure if I'll read every page as there is a lot of supplementary material (all 67 amicus briefs, summaries of 96 other gun cases, etc.). I may read certain sections to learn more about what the court decided in this case.
There were less than 40 people who came to this event...somewhat disappointing considering the significance of this case, the dismal state of anti-gun laws in Massachusetts and the opportunity to meet and schmooze with someone directly involved with winning this case. Overall it was a great event and it was nice to reconnect with folks and meet some new people. Thank you GOAL for making this event possible!
