Monday, April 20, 2009

Huh, hell just got a bit colder...

...as it seems it's the Ninth Circuit, the most left-leaning circuit court in the land, that has incorporated the Second Amendment.with its decision in Nordyke v. King. Unanimously, no less. (h/t Borepatch)

(1) It points to evidence that the right was seen as very important by the Framers, and concludes, "This brief survey of our history reveals a right indeed 'deeply rooted in this Nation’s history and tradition.' Moreover, whereas the Supreme Court has previously incorporated rights the colonists fought for, we have here both a right they fought for and the right that allowed them to fight."

(2) It points to continued support for the right from the Framing on, noting among other things that 44 state constitutions contain a right-to-bear-arms provision.

(3) It particularly points to the support of the right, including its self-defense component, around the time the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.

Wow. I honestly thought that incorporation would come with the test of Chicago's gun laws in the Seventh Circuit before the Ninth Circuit got to it. Looks like a pretty good sign, even if it's only binding for the Ninth. My, my, my, to be a fly on the wall in Mayor Richard Daley's office right about now.