Legal Links
Second Amendment Law Review Articles |
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David B. Kopel, Adjunct Professor of Law, New York University School of Law; also here |
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On "shouting fire in a crowded theater" |
comma version in Presser v. Illinois or as voted by Congress or as in § 1889 of COMMENTARIES ON THE CONSTITUTION, JOSEPH STORY, 1833.) MCDONALD v. CHICAGO 561 U.S. (2010), 6/28/2010 Held: JUSTICE ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court . . . concluding that the Fourteenth Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment right, recognized in Heller, to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense. . . . (d) The Fourteenth Amendment makes the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms fully applicable to the States. . . . Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present, and the Heller Court held that individual self-defense is “the central component” of the Second Amendment right. DC v. Heller. 554 U.S. (2008), 6/26/2008 Held: 1. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home. (a) The Amendment’s prefatory clause announces a purpose, but does not limit or expand the scope of the second part, the operative clause. The operative clause’s text and history demonstrate that it connotes an individual right to keep and bear arms. Presser v. Illinois, 116 U.S. 252, 265 (1886) The Court stated that even setting aside the Second Amendment, "the states cannot prohibit the people from keeping and bearing arms so as to deprive the United States of their rightful resource for maintain- ing the public security, and disable the people from performing their duty to the general government." ROBERTSON v. BALDWIN, 165 U.S. 275 (1897) The law is perfectly well settled that the first 10 amendments to the constitution, commonly known as the 'Bill of Rights,' were not intended to lay down any novel principles of government, but simply to embody certain guaranties and immunities which we had inherited from our English ancestors, and which had, from time immemorial, been subject to certain well-recognized exceptions, arising from the necessities of the case. In incorporating these principles into the fundamental law, there was no intention of disregarding the exceptions, which continued to be recognized as if they had been formally expressed. Thus, the freedom of speech and of the press (article 1) does not permit the publication of libels, blasphemous or indecent articles, or other publications injurious to public morals or private reputation; the right of the people [165 U.S. 275, 282] to keep and bear arms (article 2) is not infringed by laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons; . . . . HAYNES v. UNITED STATES, 390 U.S. 85 (1968) The Court ruled that a convicted felon (now likely any disqualified person) is exempt from obeying gun registration laws, saying " . . . a proper claim of the constitutional privilege against self- incrimination provides a full defense to prosecutions either for failure to register a firearm . . . or for possession of an unregistered firearm . . . . LEWIS v. UNITED STATES, 445 U.S. 55 (1980) The Court quotes legislative intent as " . . . under Title VII, every citizen could possess a gun until the commission of his first felony." |
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Last Updated on 7/21/10
By Phil Lee email maryland_alert (at) Yahoo (dot) com