Supreme Court to Hear D.C. Gun Ban Case

[claphamsa]

its nothing to do with budget, its all about the senate. due to states and the senate we have to pretend to care what people from Wyoming think.... when in reality, the entire state of Wyoming, could fit in the county i live in...talk about over representation.

[molson]

Dola-

The scary thing to me is how many people seem to just take for granted, and accept, that the supreme court is the final decider of everything - whether abortion/gun control are "good or bad", etc.

The checks and balances don't really exist anymore.

[BrianD]

Originally Posted by molson

Dola-

The scary thing to me is how many people seem to just take for granted, and accept, that the supreme court is the final decider of everything - whether abortion/gun control are "good or bad", etc.

The checks and balances don't really exist anymore.

They are the final decider on the constitutionality of laws. That a bad thing?

[molson]

Originally Posted by BrianD

They are the final decider on the constitutionality of laws. That a bad thing?

It is (potentially) when "final decider on the constitutionality of laws" has gradually evolved into "final decider on whether, based on our personal opinions, abortion/guns are good or bad". The latter is a legislative role.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I'd be all for allowing responsible gun ownership if we had an intelligent citizenship. Unfortunately, as is too often driven home to us, the vast majority of Americans (on both sides of the asile) are fucking idiots. Therefore I can't really be for making guns even easier and more accessible.

The problem is that it's not stopping people from getting guns. Chicago has the highest murder rate out of any major city. We have a handgun ban. So for me, these localized bans just make the bad guys have guns and the good guys not.

If Chicago's murder rate was real low compared to other cities that allowed handguns, I'd be all for the ban. But it sort of seems like a pointless fight since anyone who wants a gun will get one regardless of the law.

[larrymcg421]

While there is a bit of reversal on 2nd amendment positions, I don't quite agree with molson's overgeneralizations about the courts. For example, there were several conservative legal scholars that were very unhappy with the Heller decision. Another example is Gonzales v. Raich, where the justices were on opposite sides from where you would expect them policy wise (except for Scalia), but on the appropriate side with their legal philosophy.

I think people would be surprised to discover that the most common voting breakdown for SCOTUS is 9-0. During the 09 term, 9-0 decisions made up 46% of all cases decided. The contentious 5-4 cases often get all of the media attention, but they only make up 15% of all decided cases last term.

Elections for judges are a bad idea. You need only look at what happened to Judge Horton for an example of that.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by claphamsa

(I still think we should abolish states, they make no sense)

What would I, as a West Virginian, know about how to run the people and places in Utah? How would they know how to run West Virginia? The reason WV is in an economic mess for decades is because, despite it being the economic center of many industries through its days, glass, coal, timber and salt, that money left the state and went away, taken out by businesses and individuals that did not reinvest back into the state. I don;t want to see that happen again, and this time permanently.

[Buccaneer]

In reading the dissents, I kept wonder what rule of law were they basing their opinions on? I am thinking that they (both sides) have become super-legislature in controversal, societal decisions.

[Chubby]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

In reading the dissents, I kept wonder what rule of law were they basing their opinions on? I am thinking that they (both sides) have become super-legislature in controversal, societal decisions.

Look, these aren't muskets we are talking about...

[JediKooter]

Just curious, but, where do criminals buy their guns if they are not allowed to buy them at legitimate gun resellers?

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by molson

It is (potentially) when "final decider on the constitutionality of laws" has gradually evolved into "final decider on whether, based on our personal opinions, abortion/guns are good or bad". The latter is a legislative role.

Aside from the specific issues of abortion and guns, when has the court operated differently? It's always been a flawed body that responds to political pressure. But, what better system would you propose for determining constitutionality?

[RainMaker]

The funny thing is that if they did follow 2A, suitcase nukes and other weapons of that variety should be legal. I mean it doesn't say right to own a gun, it says bear arms. Arms can be a Bradley Tank.