Thread: Supreme Court finds individual right to own guns

Indeed I am a little disappointed in this decision as I thought that it was the Executive Branch that was responsible for interpreting the constitution (signing statements et all)... I thought the main job of the Supreme court was to decide elections...

OK all jokes aside I think it was a reasonable decision In a country where guns have been legal since its conceptions it makes little sense to reverse these rights / privelages.

I wonder what people think about this -

Is owning a firearm a right or a privilege?

the difference between a right and privilege as I see it are -
I have the right to free speech, but
I do not have the right to a drivers license unless I pass certain criteria which makes it a privilege

A privileged right It is your right to have one, but if you screw up, you lose the privilege.

Originally Posted by Amyn

Indeed I am a little disappointed in this decision as I thought that it was the Executive Branch that was responsible for interpreting the constitution (signing statements et all)... I thought the main job of the Supreme court was to decide elections...

Originally Posted by Amyn

...I have the right to free speech, but
I do not have the right to a drivers license unless I pass certain criteria which makes it a privilege

Keep in mind that there are limits on how you can use your free speech as well.

Originally Posted by Amyn

Is owning a firearm a right or a privilege?

It has always been a right.

It really doesn't matter if it's a literal 2nd Amendment right or not -- we've always had the right to own firearms, within certain usually-reasonable limits (depending upon locality). Case law to date suggests that the right to own arms may be limited, but not denied, except under unusual circumstances (like insanity or criminal record) -- again, with some localities more "reasonable" than others.

This week's decision reaffirmed that it's a right that may be denied, but not without cause.

Personally, I think that it's a more of a common-law right -- one that was so assumed by the framers that they didn't feel the need to mention it.

Obviously, I'm not a lawyer.

j