by Jason Stotts
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) today handed down their judgment in the Macdonald v. Chicago case (08-1521). The Justices ruled 5-4 that the second amendment is incorporated against the states through the fourteenth amendment. I haven’t read the complete decision yet, since it is quite long and was only issued today, but let me quote form the introduction:
Two years ago, in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U. S. ___ (2008), we held that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of self-defense, and we struck down a District of Columbia law that banned the possession of handguns in the home. The city of Chicago (City) and the village of Oak Park, a Chicago suburb, have laws that are similar to the District of Columbia’s, but Chicago and Oak Park argue that their laws are constitutional because the Second Amendment has no application to the States. We have previously held that most of the provisions of the Bill of Rights apply with full force to both the Federal Government and the States. Applying the standard that is well established in our case law, we hold that the Second Amendment right is fully applicable to the States. (link)
This is a great victory for individual rights and movement in the right direction in terms of the government. I encourage everyone to take a look at the full text of the judgment. I will likely revisit this issue soon with a fuller discussion of the issues.