Quote:
Originally Posted by Levin
Nothing is going to happen to this DC law or to Fenty. You guys are sounding a little off kilter. I live in the district, and it's being well received by the public and media. And the lines today to pick up a gun permit in the District for the first time in 30 years? Miniscule.
Congress has bigger fish to fry right now, and they're not going to touch this law. The Republicans got their Supreme Court victory, they can go around touting the decision to the electorate saying, "See, if you elect Obama, he's going to appoint justices who will want to take away your guns; we're only one vote on the Court away from that happening." They're not going to get riled up by some DC obstinates. And please, do you guys not realize the DC gun ban was on the books for almost 30 years and Congress did nothing -- there were plenty of Republican congresses during that time if they really cared. They're not going to care now.
This law will be challenged in the courts, as it should be. It will be a great test case to see what the contours of the 2nd Amendment right will be. The Court said nothing in Heller that makes this law out of bounds. The Court said very little in Heller except to say that the right in the 2nd A. was an individual right, and not a collective right, and that our most common gun regulations are just fine.
So in the end, not only are your comparisons to Wallace and desegregation inapt, they're offensive.
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You think that public opinion in the district has anything to do with this? This is a live wire issue in a Presidential election year. Time will tell, but the point here is that a locality is defying a ruling of the highest court in the land. That is why it is an analog to Wallace and Brown v. Board. I think that a lot of people around the country, including liberals, are going to be offended by the notion that DC is thumbing its nose at the Supreme Court. This would be like if Utah enacted a law saying you can't have an abortion unless your life is in imminent danger and five doctors agree.
I will be surprised if you are right. I think democrats are going to jump all over this as an opportunity to prove, in an election year, that they aren't anti-gun.