Friday, March 16, 2007
"The Population of the Nanny State, being composed of irresponsible rednecks, rejects and retards, must not be allowed to have Arms."
- The Second Amendment as seen through liberal eyes, according to Human Events columnist Mack Johnson.
- The Second Amendment as seen through liberal eyes, according to Human Events columnist Mack Johnson.
That's how many on the left would indeed phrase the amendment, but now we have a substantial opinion from an influential federal appeals court saying they are wrong.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 2-1 last Friday to reject on constitutional grounds a D.C. law unduly restricting the private ownership of firearms.
In overturning a federal district court's ruling supporting the ordinance, the appeals court's majority explicitly stated that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms" -- but "reasonable regulations," such as barring possession by felons and banning automatic weapons, are permitted.
The key word in that quote is "individual." Only one other federal appeals court -- the 5th Circuit in Texas -- has held that the right to own guns was an individual one, and that case was not appealed.
The U.S. Supreme Court has only ruled once on the issue in the past century, in a 1939 case, U.S. v. Miller, which has widely been seen as hostile to the individual-right view.
But this new ruling said that Miller, correctly understood, was at worst not hostile to an individual-right view and could be interpreted as supporting it.
D.C.'s gun ban has been one of the nation's toughest. In 1976, it forbade new handgun registrations and said that existing handguns, along with all rifles and shotguns, had to be kept unloaded and either disassembled or locked up.
That law was challenged by six District residents, who said it deprived them of their constitutionally guaranteed right to self-defense by not allowing them a "functional" weapon in their houses. They were not claiming a right to carry one on the street or to conceal one.
Just looking at the crime rates in their community, an objective observer would think they had a good point.
Since the law was passed, the District has held the title of "U.S. Murder Capital" in all but a few years (when it was second or third in per capita homicides). Denying its residents the right of self-defense hasn't had any noticeable influence on the ability of criminals to gain access to firearms.
So the plaintiffs, led by Shelly Parker, whose house had been invaded by a drug dealer, sued.
The full ruling, Parker v. D.C., is at pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200703/04-7041a.pdf, but here are some of its highlights:
nİThe District claimed the amendment protects only a collective right because its introductory clause refers to "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State. " Thus, its second clause, saying "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed," refers only to the National Guard.
But the court rejected that interpretation, which it called "strained," by pointing out that the law's definition of "militia" includes all citizens fit to serve.
It added that two 19th-century cases (Dred Scott and Robertson) both referred to the "right of the people" to own firearms, and then it pounded the point home: "Every other provision of the Bill of Rights, excepting the Tenth, which speaks explicitly about the allocation of governmental power, protects rights enjoyed by citizens in their individual capacity. The Second Amendment would be an inexplicable aberration were it not read to protect individual rights as well."
Further, those rights predate the Constitution because they were well-established in English common law.
nİThe District also claimed the Miller ruling reinforced the National Guard standard by holding that sawed-off shotguns were illegal because they were not military weapons.
However, the appeals court countered that ordinary rifles and pistols are essentially equivalent to many now in military use, and it noted that the Miller decision accepted the broad definition of "militia."
So, the court said, "Miller's definition of the 'Militia,' then, offers further support for the individual-right interpretation of the Second Amendment."
nİProperly brushing aside the District's contention that it was not a "State" and therefore was not covered by this amendment, the court concluded that the right to keep and bear arms "existed prior to the formation of the new government under the Constitution and was premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government (or a threat from abroad)."
The fate of a promised appeal is unknown (if the Supreme Court chooses to hear one), but the strength and depth of this ruling will cheer every American who values freedom.
M.D. Harmon is an editorial page writer and editor. He can be contacted at 791-6482 or at:
Reader comments
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No, Jack, actually, gun ownership is not the problem. There are many countries around the world where the population owns just as many guns. They don't appear to have to the same extent the wild-eyed, bloodlust that we seem to have... and the resultant murder rates. Those that revel in torture, as the policy of our government or as entertainment, as in award winning programming like "24," may well present the "civilized" face of this bloodlust.
In terms of defending against "the depredations of a tyrannical government," that possibility is not so far fetched. Whether it is a tyranny of the majority (one party rule, anyone?) or from an over-reaching executive, contrary to popular apathetic belief, it can happen here. Our military/industrial/congressional complex, Eisenhower's sentiments, certainly presents the trappings of non-representative government. report abuse
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