Will D.C. v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago become the next Brown v. Bd. of Education? There probably hasn't been as much resistance to constitutional rights since the 50's and 60's when there was much legislation in the South to try to get around 14th Amend. Equal Protection and Brown v. Bd. of Education. However, opposition was not limited to the South.
For instance, there were riots in Boston against busing. Of course the difference is now that the attacks on consitutional rights is coming from the Left. You can be sure few on the left will speak out in defense of the Second Amendment. Attacks on consitutional rights from the left will be tolerated by those leaning in that direction. This hypocrisy is disgusting in a society that claims to be free. I am not arguing that the Second Amendment is absolute or that all the proposed legislation is unconstitutional. I can support expanding background checks to weed out convicted felons, the mentally ill, etc. and new tools to combat staw-man sales. However, banning the standard high-capacity magazines in current handguns, or telling gun owners how much ammo they can have in these clips is probably unconsitutional. "Assault wepons" bans may or may not be constitutional. I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to the law-abiding citizen.
Many will argue that there are no lessons in these historical analogies because it is easy for them to pick out the "good guys" and the "bad guys," and the "good" rights and "bad" rights in the Bill of Rights. IMHO there is no such thing as a 'bad' right in the Bill of Rights. Their conclusons vary dependng upon their ideological slant.
Historically, both the left and right have regulary been attacking consitutional rights. The effects of both attacks pose serious threats to a free society. .
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