I don't like to simply parrot articles from other gun rights blogs, but there is a great piece posted on "
Of Arms and the Law" that needs to be shared. Dave Hardy's
"Ducking the Bullet: District of Columbia v. Heller and the Stevens Dissent" (published in the Cardozo Law Review) illustrates how we came within one SCOTUS vote of not have an individual 2nd Amendment right. While the
Scalia majority has been analyzed to death by both sides, the
Stevens dissent (joined by Souter, Ginsberg, & Breyer) has gone pretty much untouched. Hardy takes it apart piece by piece and shows that a rushed, piecemeal, historically inaccurate dissent nearly stripped us of our rights. Here is a choice anecdote that should frighten gun owners and remind them how precarious the battle for our rights was and is:
Or Might the Amendment Protect a State's Power to Impose Militia Duty? The dissent advances this view, as well:
"[I]t is the collective action of individuals having a duty to serve in the militia that the text directly protects and, perhaps more importantly, that the ultimate purpose of the Amendment was to protect the States' share of the divided sovereignty created by the Constitution."
This is the most strained view of all. There is an individual constitutional right to be forced to discharge a legal duty. Rather a strange "right"!
Worth taking the time to read in full. You can also download the full PDF article
here.
