Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

The SCOTUS has decided to take on the Chicago/NRA case sometime early next year,,This could once and for all put an end to the local laws that many localities like NY,MA,and IL use to restrict or outright ban guns...

Wednesday, September 30, 2009
More on Supreme Court Decision to Hear Chicago Case

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that they would hear a case dealing with the Chicago handgun ban. The case is McDonald vs. Chicago. The lawsuit was originally filed within hours after the high court's ruling in D.C. vs. Heller that overturned a ban on possessing handguns in the nation's capital.

The court had three cases to choose from on the Second Amendment, one dealing with New York (Maloney v. Rice) and two dealing with Chicago - the McDonald case where Alan Gura, the attorney that successfully argued the Heller case, and the NRA case. According to SCOTUS Blog:


Presumably, the Court will hold onto that case until it decides McDonald; the same is likely for the New York case, Maloney v. Rice (08-1592).
The case has major implications for the legality of restrictive gun laws not only in Chicago, but also in other cities across the United States such as New York. In short, the Supreme court could incorporate the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment to applied to states.

For those not familiar with the meaning of "Incorporation," it is the technical word for making a Constitutional Amendment applicable to the states. When the Bill of Rights was passed, the Founders specifically rejected a proposal to incorporate the Amendments. Instead, the laws were only applicable to the federal government.

But starting in 1897, the high court has undergone a piecemeal process of incorporating various parts of the Bill of Rights. The case in question is asking the justices to extend the federally protected Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to the states. Something has yet to do.

It should be noted that VSSA joined our sister state associations in filing a brief in support of NRA vs. Chicago. While that case is not the one being heard, VSSA will be joining the other state associations in support of McDonald. We will keep you posted on the latest information about VSSA's role in the case.

Its going to be interesting to see what they do. I've been following this story and they all seem to believe that SCOTUS will rule in favor of gun owners. BUT - let us not forget that Heller was only upheld by a 5-4 vote. Could be a sticky one.

This is going to be much like the Democratic convention when the protesters chanted "The whole world is watching" while Daly's thugs beat the hell out of them. It will be an interesting case,,I watched an interview with the lawyer who will be presenting the argument and he struck me as a very sharp individual. He's the same guy that successfully argued the Heller decision..It has a good chance of winning IMHO, A lot of states attorney generals have submitted briefs as freinds of the court in favor of the change. Looking at how firearms have been such an accepted part of American life it can be said that precedent does exist to justify the incorporation. Will be very interesting to see how it is interpreted.

Howdy,

This could benefit us regardless of how the SCOTUS rules. A ruling against incorporation of the Second amendment could call in to question a lot of what the feds do. For example, could the BATFE be forced to back off their threats against Montana FFL's regarding the "Made in Montana for Montana" law? The proponents of States Rights must really be in a pickle, what with most of them being pro-gun as well.

Regards,

George

An interesting thought, As of now the BATFE is telling the states that have tried what Montana has ,that the federal law overides their sovereignty law. If this case was to fail it would be very interesting to watch the fallout that it would trigger.. I would rather see the incorporation go forward and suceed but the alternative could almost be equally as good.