June 2 (TRN) -- American gun owners have been put in spectacular jeopardy by a federal court ruling that enables states or cities to ban all -- ALL -- firearms ownership! A Chicago ordinance banning handguns and automatic weapons within city limits was upheld by a U.S. Court of Appeals panel, which rejected a challenge by the National Rifle Association. Right about now, you're probably thinking these Judges are liberal, activist Judges. Not true. One was appointed by Gerald Ford, the other two by Ronald Reagan.
The unanimous three-judge panel ruled today that a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year, in the case "District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008)" which recognized an individual right to bear arms under the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, doesn’t apply to states and municipalities.
The court said the Heller case dealt with laws passed under federal authority, not state authority. As such an individual's federal "right to keep and bear arms" not not extend to rights under state or local laws!
That's not all. The Decision by the court states that "some" of the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution (Commonly known as "The Bill of Rights") "do not apply to the states" while others, do!
Lastly, the Court ruling says that ideals that were important in the 1780's when the Constitution was adopted, should give way to more contemporary views.
COMMENTARY:
This is the most spectacular act of judicial malfeasance I have ever witnessed. Yes, I said malfeasance (intentionally bad) rather than misfeasance (accidentally bad).
The Supreme Court interpretation of the Second Amendment is what overturned the gun ban in Washington DC. Whoever enacted that law mattered not. A "ban" on gun possession was unconstitutional, period.
Chicago has a ban on gun ownership and based upon the interpretation of the Second Amendment in the Washington, DC case, a ban is still Unconstitutional -- no matter who enacted such a ban.
For these Judges to say a ban by the feds is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment but a ban by the states is permissible under that same Second Amendment, is not only absurd, it puts every gun owner in the nation at risk of his own state or local government banning gun ownership.
Instead of peaceful gun-rights efforts targeted at a single entity, the U.S. Congress, the political battlefield has just been opened to 50 state legislatures , 3,141 counties and county equivalents within the 50 States and the District of Columbia. They are categorized as follows: 3,007 entities named “County” 16 Boroughs in Alaska 11 Census Areas in Alaska (for areas not organized into Boroughs by the State) 64 Parishes in Louisiana 42 Independent Cities (1 in Maryland, 1 in Missouri, 1 in Nevada, and the remainder in Virginia) 1 District - the Federal District or District of Columbia.
It gets worse. Inside those counties are:
19,429 municipalities; 16,504 townships; 35,052 special districts; and 13,506 independent school districts.
Do the math and you now find that instead of having to deal with one national political entity, Congress, Gun owners must now face off with around 78,000 other governments at the state, county and municipal level. How's THAT for stacking the deck against us?
This decision by the Seventh U.S. Circuit court of Appeals was absolutely political in its intent. It was specifically designed to break apart the "powerful gun lobby" and force us to square off with tens of thousands of additional government bodies.
We law-abiding gun owners defeated the opponents at the national level and now this single court has changed the rules. Now, instead of one national political target, we have just been put potentially at odds with literally tens of thousands of other governments!
The federal Judges at both the District Court and now at the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals have intentionally ignored the common language of the Second Amendment and have now intentionally ignored a clear ruling by the US Supreme Court on the matter.
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