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INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS WON IN TODAY’S SUPREME COURT HEARING
SAF ^ | Tue 3/18/2008 | SAF

Posted on 3/18/2008, 8:49:21 PM by Halo-JM

NEWS RELEASE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS WON IN TODAY’S SUPREME COURT HEARING, SAYS SAF

BELLEVUE, WA – Today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of District of Columbia v Heller produced a clear victory for the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, the Second Amendment Foundation said.

“We are confident,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, “that the high court will hand down an opinion that affirms the Second Amendment means what it says.

(Excerpt) Read more at prnewswire.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Front Page News; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: banglist; dc; parker; rtkaba; scotus
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NEWS RELEASE INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS WON IN TODAY’S SUPREME COURT HEARING, SAYS SAF

BELLEVUE, WA – Today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of District of Columbia v Heller produced a clear victory for the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, the Second Amendment Foundation said.

“We are confident,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, “that the high court will hand down an opinion that affirms the Second Amendment means what it says. Based on the questions that the justices asked, it is clear that they read the amicus briefs submitted by our side in support of District resident Dick Anthony Heller. We were impressed with the depth of questions asked by all of the justices, and we have no doubt that the court has a clear understanding of Second Amendment history, and that ‘the people’ are all citizens.

“We believe the District presented a very weak defense of its handgun ban that is not supported by court precedent or historical fact,” he continued. “Attorney Alan Gura, and Solicitor General Paul Clement, however, both provided a clear and proper perspective on the meaning of the Second Amendment. Mr. Gura’s remarks left the justices with a clear understanding why the District’s handgun ban is unconstitutional.”

Gottlieb believes that Gura, one of three attorneys representing District resident Dick Anthony Heller, who is challenging the 32-year-old handgun ban, “won the oral argument.”

“While we do not expect the Supreme Court to strike down every gun law and regulation on the books,” Gottlieb said, “we anticipate that the court will rule once and for all that the right to keep and bear arms is a fundamental individual civil right, and that gun bans, even on specific types of commonly-owned firearms, do not stand up under even modest scrutiny.

“An affirmative ruling, which we anticipate sometime in late June,” he concluded, “will provide a foundation upon which other Draconian firearms laws can be challenged, and more importantly, it will destroy a fantasy that has become a cornerstone argument for restrictive gun control laws. This should put an end to the lie that the Second Amendment only protects some mythical right of the states to organize a militia. That was not true when the amendment was written, it is not true today, and it will not be true tomorrow, regardless how hard extremist gun banners try to make it so.”

1 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:49:21 PM by Halo-JM
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To: Halo-JM

Nice, but oral arguments mean little.


2 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:50:58 PM by MeanWestTexan (Kol Hakavod Mossad!)
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To: Halo-JM

YESSSSS!!!!


3 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:51:58 PM by Jeffrey_D. (Some people are alive simply because it's illegal to shoot them !!!!)
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To: Halo-JM

Let’s hope. I’m glad to hear that the Solicitor General’s oral arguments were indeed an improvement over that lousy written brief presented earlier. Sounds like the administration got the message.


4 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:52:44 PM by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
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To: Halo-JM; MeanWestTexan; Jeffrey_D.

Whoa. Don’t count your strict constructionist chickens...


5 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:53:10 PM by sam_paine (X .................................)
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To: MeanWestTexan

Correct, optimism is great, but time has taught me to be a realist. That being said, so far so good.


6 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:53:10 PM by stevio (Crunchy Con - God, guns, guts, and organically grown crunchy nuts.)
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To: stevio

“That being said, so far so good.”

Agreed.


7 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:54:11 PM by traderrob6
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To: Cicero
I’m glad to hear that the Solicitor General’s oral arguments were indeed an improvement over that lousy written brief presented earlier.

I don't know about that. Clement made very clear that the United States rejects a strict scrutiny standard.

8 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:54:17 PM by Publius Valerius
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To: Halo-JM
“We are confident,” said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, “that the high court will hand down an opinion that affirms the Second Amendment means what it says.

I sure hope so. I guess we'll know in June.

Winning this would be HUGE for the good guys. We need to get the government off of our backs and this would be a great start in the right direction.

9 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:54:46 PM by Allegra (Posting without being logged on since 2001)
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To: Halo-JM

“Today’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of District of Columbia v Heller produced a clear victory for the individual citizen’s right to keep and bear arms, the Second Amendment Foundation said.”

Way to jinx the whole thing genius.


10 posted on 3/18/2008, 8:58:20 PM by Hacklehead (Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the hippies.)
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To: Halo-JM
Based on the questions that the justices asked, it is clear that they read the amicus briefs submitted by our side in support of District resident Dick Anthony Heller. We were impressed with the depth of questions asked by all of the justices, and we have no doubt that the court has a clear understanding of Second Amendment history, and that ‘the people’ are all citizens.

The judges can just as easily play devil's advocate without showing their true beliefs. Beware of perceived expressions of support, especially by those not normally in agreement with the conservative members. Don't count your chickens before they hatch.

11 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:00:28 PM by CedarDave (John, When will you treat conservatives the way you do fellow senators John, Hillary and Barack?)
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To: MeanWestTexan
Another reason
to vote REPUBLICAN!


12 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:01:08 PM by Recovering_Democrat ((I am SO glad to no longer be associated with the party of Dependence on Government!))
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To: Halo-JM

I expect a ruling that affirms the right of citizens to own weapons to defend themselves. That’s great. I also expect an ‘out’ to be provided so government entities can impose ‘reasoned’ restrictions. That’s where we lose.

If carve outs are recognized by the court, then carve-outs will essentially become the death of our gun rights.

We could wind up with a situation where one shotgun per family would be the only weapon a citizen could own. This would meet the constituional right to own, but severely damage and limit that right, an overall nearly universal destruction of our right to self-defense in all but a limited number of situations.

Here’s to hoping I’m wrong.

Does it look like I’ve pretty much lost confidence/trust in our federal government? Good.


13 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:01:40 PM by DoughtyOne (Some think McCain should pick his No 2 now. I thought the nominee was No 2. And that No 1s me off!)
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To: Halo-JM
Wow, it was the D.C. government that gave us this gift by filing the appeal. I wonder who they'd feel about a big thankyou from the NRA??!!
14 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:02:06 PM by colorado tanker (Number nine, number nine, number nine . . .)
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To: Publius Valerius
Did you listen to the hearing? Even the liberal members were boxing him around with his (il)logical fallacies. Based on comments made by Ginsberg, et al, there is simply no way around concluding that the 2A is an individual right not limited to soldiering.

The only issue left remaining is to what degree restrictions can be placed for very specific purposes ie airlines, courtrooms, etc. But no blanket restrictions on type, keep & bear.

15 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:02:37 PM by semantic
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To: Halo-JM

Boy! This could be a great victory!


16 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:06:54 PM by Chili Girl
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To: Halo-JM

Nothing has been ‘won’ as yet. Lets wait for the decision.


17 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:07:10 PM by MEGoody (Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.)
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To: Halo-JM

This is a critical case for The Good Guys; fingers crossed ‘til June.


18 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:07:15 PM by Jack Hammer (here)
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To: semantic

I don’t have as much optimism.

The court will try to rule as narrowly as possible in order not to invalidate the gun control laws throughout the USA.


19 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:08:49 PM by MrB (You can't reason people out of a position that they didn't use reason to get into in the first place)
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To: Halo-JM

bttt


20 posted on 3/18/2008, 9:10:03 PM by WorkerbeeCitizen (I love big brother)
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