"The Supreme
Court on Monday refused to hear a Second Amendment challenge to a
Chicago suburb’s ordinance that banned semiautomatic assault weapons and
large-capacity magazines.
The decision not to hear the case has no
precedential force, but was nonetheless part of a series of signals from the Supreme
Court giving at least tacit approval to even quite strict gun
control laws in states and localities that choose to enact them.
“The justices don’t reveal their reasons
for denying review, but one thing is clear,” said Adam Winkler, a law professor
at the University of California, Los Angeles. “The justices certainly aren’t
eager to take up a Second Amendment case these days.”
“One has to wonder,” he said, “if the
Supreme Court is having second thoughts about the Second AmendmentContinue reading the main story
The court will sooner or later return to
the subject of the scope of the Second Amendment right first recognized in 2008
in District of Columbia v. Heller, which struck down parts of
an exceptionally strict local law that barred keeping guns in the home for
self-defense. But the justices do not seem eager to do so even as
the nation is in the midst of a sharp debate over gun control in the wake of
shooting rampages in San Bernardino, Calif., and across the nation.
In dissent on Monday, Justice Clarence
Thomas, joined by Justice Antonin Scalia, accused the court of abdicating its
responsibility to enforce the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.
(Justice Scalia wrote the majority opinion in the Heller case, which was
decided by a 5 to 4 vote.) . . .
Bans on rapid-fire weapons have been upheld by federal appeals courts in San Francisco and New York in addition to the 7th Circuit panel that upheld the Highland Park ordinance."
One interpretation of this result, but not a legal one, is that that only 2 Justices wanted to overturn the assault rifle law and that seven did not. Gun Control advocates argue that this indicates that the Court will not strike down assault weapon bans.
The Supreme Court is long overdue for additional opinions on the Second Amendment to further clarify the rights of Americans.
One interpretation of this result, but not a legal one, is that that only 2 Justices wanted to overturn the assault rifle law and that seven did not. Gun Control advocates argue that this indicates that the Court will not strike down assault weapon bans.
The Supreme Court is long overdue for additional opinions on the Second Amendment to further clarify the rights of Americans.
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