The quote of the day is presented by Guns.com.
Ephrat Livni’s take on the Supreme Court’s consideration of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. City of New York is a clear demonstration of how much the case concerns the anti-gun advocacy orgs and their journalist allies.
It takes a special kind of self-delusion (disingenuousness?) to argue that punting the case — giving in to the City’s transparent attempt to dodge a ruling and declaring the case moot — would somehow “defuse the controversy.” In fact, while there are other ripe 2A cases waiting in the wings, deciding to pass on NYSRPA would only fan the flames.
In ruling on this case, the court can — once and for all — raise the Second Amendment from of its second class status, applying strict scrutiny to any regulation of this most-maligned enumerated civil right. We’ll see if the Court takes advantage of that opportunity.
[George Washington University law professor Robert] Cottrol noted that Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh all seem to “favor a strong view of the Second Amendment.” Yet he stopped short of making bets and notably omitted the chief justice from this list of strong gun rights supporters.
That’s perhaps because the court hasn’t been quite as predictable as pundits have expected of late and because John Roberts might play a moderating force between progressives and conservatives in this case, especially in view of the inflammatory rhetoric it has generated thus far. Roberts may or may not be the bench’s new swing voter, but he certainly dislikes it when anyone—Republican or Democrat—implies the court is a political institution and that the justices are anything but neutral arbiters of the law.
Deciding not to decide on the gun rights questions here, citing mootness, offers the court a legitimate out of this political and cultural pickle. It would be a conservative response in the true, constitutional sense of conservatism. While this sure feels like a live controversy because Americans are riled up about guns—owning and controlling them—the court could simply defuse this controversy by refusing to rule on outdated legislation, declining to issue what would essentially be an advisory opinion, an editorial about the Second Amendment.
– Ephrat Livni in SCOTUS has the 2nd Amendment in its sights—and gun groups are thrilled
[ED: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assn. v. City of New York tomorrow. TTAG contributors LKB (a member of the Supreme Court bar) and Jeff Hulbert of Patriot Picket will be there reporting on the arguments and the surrounding protests outside the Court throughout the day.]