The McDonald and Heller decisions have forever changed the game for gun control in the United States. The incorporation of the Second Amendment and the precedent that “commonly used” firearms cannot be banned has called into question everything from may-issue licensing to “assault weapons” ban legislation, possibly making them as unconstitutional as “separate but equal” and poll taxes. And according to Judge Scalia, the Supreme Court appears to be spoiling for a fight . . .
From The Washington Examiner:
Conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, decrying America’s demonization of guns, is predicting that the parade of new gun control laws, cheered on by President Obama, will hit the Supreme Court soon, possibly settling for ever the types of weapons that can be owned.
Scalia, whose legacy decision in the 2008 case of District of Columbia vs. Heller ended the ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., suggested that the Constitution allows limits on what Americans can own, but the only example he offered was a shoulder-launched rocket that would bring down jets.
And the wily judge suggested to an audience of Smithsonian Associates at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium Tuesday night that he is not just preparing for a new gun control challenge, but that he’s softening up one of his liberal colleague on guns.
From what I’m seeing, it looks like Kachalsky v. Cacase is going to be the chosen case to get pushed to the front of the SCOTUS line, a case which would get rid of “may issue” licensing and seal the right to carry a firearm for personal protection. Dywinski v NY is the one I’d really like to see though (NY SAFE Act challenge), but we’ll have to wait for it to work its way through the lower courts before the Supremes even get their first bite of that apple.
What I’m wondering is how California is going to handle their laws when New York’s proposed assault weapons ban is struck down. As far as this amateur backseat lawyer can figure, it’s going to be an all or nothing sort of decision that either stops any state from outlawing “assault weapons” based on their features or permits them to ban whatever they want. So if NY’s AWB is ruled unconstitutional, will the other states comply with the decision or will they need to be beaten into submission?
Whatever happens, this is going to be TONS of fun to watch. With the court as it is, it’s more likely than not that the Second Amendment is going to get some serious bolstering that will rain on the gun control advocates’ parade. There’s no better argument than “what you’re proposing is unconstitutional according to the Supreme Court” to kill a gun control bill.