Gun-control case divides state AGs

[flashl]

Source: Stateline

A gun-control case to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court March 18 has exposed a division among state attorneys general over the meaning of the Second Amendment, the fiercely debated constitutional provision that guarantees Americans the right to “keep and bear arms.”


Attorneys general from 31 states have filed a legal brief urging the high court to strike down the law being challenged in the case, the District of Columbia’s strict, 32-year-old ban on handguns. Led by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott (R), the group backs a security guard who wants the district’s statute to be ruled unconstitutional.


Lending their support to the District of Columbia are attorneys general from five other states — Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York — who say reasonable regulation of dangerous firearms is constitutional and keeps the public safe. A sixth attorney general, Lisa Madigan (D) of Illinois, sided with the district in an earlier court filing, but declined to join the supporting states’ latest brief.


The opposing views of the state attorneys general — who next week will attend their annual meeting in Washington, D.C. — are among more than 60 “friend of the court” briefs filed by elected officials, interest groups, academics and others in an effort to influence the Supreme Court. The politically charged case even has divided the Bush administration: Vice President Dick Cheney joined 305 members of Congress in urging the court to strike down the handgun ban, while Justice Department lawyers recommended remanding the case to a lower court for further review.

Stateline

Read more: http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=286562

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While Rome is burning ...

[jody]

1. BO was a board member of the Joyce Foundation that funds Violence Policy Center whose major goal is

to ban all handguns. BO also considered becoming president of Joyce.

What will BO's position be on D.C. v. Heller?

[flashl]

2. If AGs can join together for a gun band, why haven't they joined together to help DC

to become a state? Taxation without representation is as basic and fundamental to citizens as the second amendment.

[sepulveda]

3. lol

in hawaii, "reasonable regulation" of firearms means only the extremely well connected politically have even a chance of a carry permit

it's a joke

one of th efacts of gun control in states like Hawaii and Mass. is that these "may issue" states laws allow those with political power, or friends in politics to get permits and everybody else is screwed. i lived in a small town in MA and got a permit because the police chief believed in them. i had previously lived in another town 5 miles away and that police chief didn't believe in them, so wouldn't issue me one.

for those who live in big cities, it's almost entirely based on knowing an influential politician.

it's up to the police chief in the town you live in.

how is that respective of civil rights?

in shall issue states, this discretion is taken away from the powers that be.

HI is similar.