| |
Home
The Daily Dose/June 28, 2008
By Gaylon Kent
The Writer's Shack
   
Rather long notes from around the Human Experience, but we read and quote an actual Supreme Court opinion, plus two dissents, so we would appreciate the issuance of some slack. Plus your 1908 Cubs, Trivia and some NBA drivel. Also, Anastacia is the Column Four Foto!
AND LIBERTY AND FIREARMS FOR ALL: The US Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote, ruled this week that residents of Washington, D.C. have the right to possess and carry guns.
We are not gun toters, or even lawyers here at the Writer's Shack, but we were surprised this was even subject for discussion. I mean, the Constitution is very clear on the matter, the Second Amendment stating en toto that:
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
You would think that would be clear enough, but it didn't stop the District of Columbia from enacting a law prohibiting it's residents from packing, and requiring that legal weapons that are kept at home be trigger-locked or disassembled.
Dry, Technical Matter: As usual with (the few) Supreme Court decisions that interest us, we did our due diligence and actually read the opinion.
Timeline: In 1975 the District of Columbia passed a law that had made it a crime to carry an unregistered firearm and also prohibited the registration of handguns. It also provided that no person may carry and unlicensed handgun, though it did authorize the police chief to issue one-year licenses. It also required lawfully owned firearms to be kept unloaded and either disassembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.
Uh-Oh: Exception to this was taken by several people, including Citizen Dick Heller, who was denied registration of a weapon he wanted to keep at home. He sued, seeking to have the city banned from enforcing the ban on handgun registration, and overturning the licensing and trigger-lock requirements because it prohibited the use of functional firearms in the home.
A District court dismissed the suit in 2003, a decision later reversed by the Circuit court, which held the Second Amendment protected a citizen's right to bear arms and that the handgun ban and the requirement that weapons be kept non-functional violated that right. The Supreme Court heard the case in March.
Get Your Writer's Shack Opinion, Er, Policy Right Here: This ruling is in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Second Amendment.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G: The letter of the Amendment is that a well regulated militia is necessary for a free people, and to that end the people are allowed to arm themselves, which we interpret to mean that an armed citizenry keeps the rascals in power in line, because the Founding Fathers were fearful of a government that would set up a standing army that would overpower an unarmed citizenry. Having had the benefit of a stable government for over two centuries we like to think that this threat has passed, and, while there is no reasonable expectation that a citizen's militia will be needed anytime soon, you never know. The World Trade Center was expected to stand a lot longer than 29 years.
Spirit In The Sky: The spirit of the Second Amendment is well served by this ruling, too. Specific Writer's Shack policy on this matter has yet to be promulgated, but offhand we feel the Second Amendment doesn't allow the right to bear every firearm mankind is capable of producing. There is a place for regulation of weapons that are - to quote an earlier Supreme Court decision - "dangerous, unusual or not in common use for lawful purposes". But Heller was not looking to register the Ray Gun of Death to achieve world domination; he wanted to register a handgun for defense at home, which is certainly a common use for a lawful purpose.
Maybe You Could Throw The Bullets: The phrase "dangerous weapon" leads us to wonder what, - and what good - a non-dangerous weapon might be.
Get Out Your Lineup Cards: Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority, and was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Samuel "Sammy" Alito. Dissents were filed by Justice John Paul Stevens and Steven Breyer, which were joined by each other, and justices David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
An Opposing Viewpoint: Justice Stevens, writing fairly interestingly in dissent, suggests the Second Amendment was more military than civil in nature, pointing out "The term 'bear arms' is a familiar idiom; when used unadorned by any additional words, its meaning is "to serve as a soldier, do military service, fight."
He manfully conceded that while keeping a state militia "has not been a matter of significant public interest for over two centuries" he added that fact should not "obscure the concerns that animated the Framers" and added "Had the Framers wished to expand the meaning of the phrase 'bear arms' to encompass civilian possession and use, they could have done so by the addition of phrases such as 'for the defense of themselves' as was done in the Pennsylvania and Vermont Declarations of Rights."
In A Nutshell: The focus of Justice Bryers' dissent was since the law was in response to handgun use in a high-crime urban area, it represented "a permissible legislative response to a serious, indeed, life-threatening problem".
Our Own Opinion: After reading Justice Breyer's dissent, we are surprised he was able to attract a wife. His writing style is, officially, classified as Boring - which is rich coming from the staff that produces The Bottom Ten - and his habit of not using footnotes but including citations in the text is tedious to read. However, when you learn his wife came from the British aristocracy, you can see where there might be an attraction.
For The Record: With his literate, interesting, almost lively dissent, Justice Stevens cements his status as our fave Supreme Court writer. Though we agree with the Court's ruling, Scalia's majority opinion, honestly, reads more like a math problem and not a particularly interesting one at that.
Editor's Note: In what we are billing as a patriotic attempt to spur the Chicago Cubs to their first World Series victory in one (1) century, On This Date is pleased to take a look at the 1908 Cubs season!
LET'S WIN TWO!: On this date, in 1908, the Chicago Cubs took two from the Cincinnati Reds, winning 3-1 and 2-0 at West Side Grounds, with Ed Ruelbach throwing a three-hitter in the second game. The Cubs take four of five from the Reds and finish the homestand 4-2.
Quickly, Quickly, We're Running Out Of Time Here: With the sweep the Cubs remained tied for first in the National League with the Pirates, who took two from the Cardinals in St. Louis. The Reds fell to seven games back.
Token On This Date Action: On this date, in 1914, Franz Ferdinand, the Archduke of Austria, and his wife Sophie, are assassinated in Sarajevo, an event which would eventually trigger World War I.
Fast Follow-up: On this date, in 1919, World War I came to an end when the Treaty of Versailles is signed in Paris.
YAWN: You know, we don't pay too much attention to the NBA. Basketball, as played in the NBA, is hard to watch because all anybody wants to do nowadays is dunk and shoot three's. Sure, there athletes are incredibly talented and do - and we do not throw this word around lightly - amazing things, but they aren't great basketball players. Nobody can make a free throw. The game is way to physical. Fouls are now a part of an overall game plan and not a punitive action for violating a rule.
What we consider further proof that the NBA game is not well played can be found in the recent NBA draft, where freshman, players who have completed just one year of college, were selected with the first three picks, a first. Five of the first seven picks were freshman.
Some people may rave about this development, but we prefer to look at it from the point of view that basketball, as played in the NBA, is so bad it can be played expertly by kids just a year out of high school.
A Question: Could you picture a kid one year out of high school starring in the NFL or the major leagues? Of course not, because they couldn't, the games are simply too difficult to play for someone that inexperienced.
OTOH: It should be noted that kids today play a lot more basketball than they do football or baseball, mainly because nobody plays sandlot baseball or football anymore, while kids play pick up basketball all the time now. These sports are almost exclusively played under someone's watchful eye, though a lot of high school athletes only play one sport year round now.
Answer To The Last Trivia Question: Old Style beer was first brewed in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Today's Stumper: Who was the first #1 pick in the NBA draft? - Answer next time!
Threats? Recipes? Trivia question answers? Email The Writer's Shack Here!
Home |
|
