|
Edited on Thu Nov-22-07 09:40 AM by Stop Cornyn
Excerpt from Warin v. U.S. decided October 18, 2007: "the Second Amendment confers only collective rights. See United States v. Bournes, 339 F.3d 396, 397 (6th Cir.2003); United States v. Napier, 233 F.3d 394, 402 (6th Cir .2000); United States v. Baker, 197 F.3d 211, 216 (1999); United States v. Ables, 167 F.3d 1021, 1027 (6th Cir.1999)." Excerpt from U.S. v. Kelly decided August 14, 2007: "Kelly also argues that the ban on semi-automatic assault weapons in section 922(v) violates his Second Amendment right to bear arms. The Second Amendment states that: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” We held in Love v. Pepersack, 47 F.3d 120 (4th Cir.1995), that the Second Amendment does not confer an absolute individual right to bear firearms. In that case we adopted the collective rights theory, interpreting the Amendment to protect the states' right to organize and arm militias. Accordingly, a person challenging a federal gun restriction must show that his possession of the gun “bore a ‘reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.’ “ Id. at 124 (quoting United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 178, 59 S.Ct. 816, 83 L.Ed. 1206 (1939))." Excerpt from U.S. v. Hamblen decided June 21, 2007: "Although the Sixth Circuit has not expressly adopted the Haney four-part test, this circuit has held that “the Second Amendment guarantees a collective rather than an individual right.” United States v. Warin, 530 F.2d 103, 106 (6th Cir.1976). Additionally, the Supreme Court has stated that a valid Second Amendment claim requires a defendant to establish that his possession or use of a weapon “has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia.” United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 178, 59 S.Ct. 816, 83 L.Ed. 1206 (1939). Thus, at a minimum, Hamblen must assert a collective right by satisfying Miller." Excerpt from Andrews v. U.S. decided May 03, 2007: "We agree with numerous other courts that “the Second Amendment guarantees a collective rather than an individual right.” United States v. Warin, 530 F.2d 103, 106 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 426 U.S. 948, 96 S.Ct. 3168, 49 L.Ed.2d 1185 (1976); accord Stevens v. United States, 440 F.2d 144, 149 (6th Cir.1971); United States v. Kozerski, 518 F.Supp. 1082, 1090 (D.N.H.1981), aff'd mem., 740 F.2d 952 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 842, 105 S.Ct. 147, 83 L.Ed.2d 86 (1984); Annot. 37 A.L.R. Fed. 696, 706 (1978) (citing cases). That is to say, it protects a state's right to raise and regulate a militia by prohibiting Congress from enacting legislation that will interfere with that right. The Second Amendment says nothing that would prohibit a state (or the legislature for the District of Columbia) from restricting the use or possession of weapons in derogation of the government's own right to enroll a body of militiamen “bearing arms supplied by themselves” as in bygone days. United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, 179, 59 S.Ct. 816, 83 L.Ed. 1206 (1939). In sum, “he right to keep and bear arms is not a right conferred upon the people by the federal constitution. Whatever rights the people may have depend upon local legislation....” Cases v. United States, 131 F.2d 916, 921 (1st Cir.1942), cert. denied, 319 U.S. 770, 63 S.Ct. 1431, 87 L.Ed. 1718 (1943)." I actually favor the recognition of an individual right to bear arms. My point is that whether or not I would recognize an individual right or you would recognize an individual right, that is not that law. and it has not ever been the law. When the Supreme Court thinks that it might want to ignore literally thousands of prior judicial decisions to reconsider an issue, that is judicial activism. I'm not even saying that judicial activism is necessarily a bad thing (Brown v. Board of Education was an activist judicial decision). My point is that right-wing douchebags everywhere say that judicial activism is a terrible thing and, yet, their beloved Supreme Court is the most activist in Chief Roberts's lifetime.
|