it's authoritarian to take advantage of the Heller decision

[GenXer47]

We are living in the conservative fever dream of Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion in DC vs. Heller, which basically said, "we're gonna ignore the whole first clause of the 2nd amendment - everyone gets to have a gun".
If you disagree with the decision, but still purchased a gun, I submit: that's equally authoritarian to, say, suddenly running around saying women have no right to an abortion, just because SCOTUS says so.
And if you've simply "given up", because 400 million guns is such a huge number, what's one more gun? That's the end justifying the means, but in the negative: no ends, justifying no means. We're not gonna try (and no one else will, either).
Isn't it time we live and die by our principles? This is how the unthinkable becomes "normalized". We're on track to have over a billion guns by the time a current preschooler graduates from high school. Generation Target Practice deserves better.

[AndyS]

1. Hear hear!

Welcome to DU!

[Martin68]

2. Ironic, isn't it! An originalist textualist leaves out an entire clause in the text of the 2nd

Last edited Mon Sep 19, 2022, 01:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Amendment! Is that intellectual dishonesty, or just plain dishonesty?

[ManiacJoe]

3. The introductory clause is not a limiting clause.

Why? Because it is not phrased that way.
Modern laws are often written the same way, just leading with the word "whereas", with the same useless effect.
Had the authors intended the introductory clause to be a limiting clause, they would have phrased it that way.

[EX500rider]

4. Not to mention if it meant firearms for just militia members it wouldn't be in the Bill of Rights

Also since the writers of the 2nd knew what they meant all you have to ask is did they require militia membership after the amendment was passed?
No, they did not because it quite plainly says "the people", not "the militia".

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

5. It's absolutely awful that we have the violence that we have.

I include gun violence in that opinion. But I don't see how laws are going to be the key to solving the problem. Do you have any ideas on how to make progress?