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New D.C. gun regulations seem to flout Supreme Court decision
July 17, 2008 | Tagged D.C. v. Heller, New D.C. regulations, Second Amendment |
I’m not an attorney, and I don’t even play one on TV, but it seems to me that D.C. is treading on thin ice with its new gun regulations in at least two areas. First, the new law requires that registered handguns be kept unloaded and disassembled or locked up unless the gun is “being used to protect against a reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm to a person.” Didn’t the Court rule that restriction unconstitutional?
I’m guessing that the District is going to include a crystal ball or Ouija Board with the gun registration paperwork, so that a homeowner can perceive a “threat of immediate harm” in time to react to it. I would favor a fast-acting crystal ball over the Ouija board, because you could leave the crystal ball on a table and walk by it every five minutes or so to determine if you were going to need to unlock/assemble and load your weapon. Tea leaves or Tarot cards would be equally impractical, because of the length of time required to prepare them for use.
Silly me! Time is no problem. I’m sure the District will also be able to enforce a “King’s-X” or “Time Out” rule, whereby the burglar, rapist, murderer, or any combination of the above, is obligated to wait at least a minute or two, while the law-abiding homeowner fiddles with his or her governmentally-disabled gun. Any felon who violates the waiting period will undoubtedly get additional time added to his or her community service obligation, in the event that he or she is arrested, tried, and convicted following the successful execution of the crime, and possibly of the homeowner.
The other “thin ice” issue, in my opinion is the District’s continuing ban on semi-automatic firearms that can fire more than twelve rounds without reloading. As I, a layman, read the Supreme Court decision, the phrase “in common use at the time” stands out with regard to weapons that come under the aegis of the Second Amendment. Semi-automatic firearms with the capacity to fire more than 12 rounds are certainly in “common use.” The Court also refers to the former D.C. ban as (an unconstitutional) “prohibition on an entire class of ‘arms’ that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense.” Are not semi-auto firearms with magazine wells (able to hold over 12 rounds) “an entire class of ‘arms’ (used) “…for the lawful purpose of self-defense?”
We must wait for the next cycle of cases and appeals to help recapture some of the legal rights lost to the Left-wing nanny statists. Until then, the benighted residents of the District have regained a toehold on their freedoms. Remember to vote for McCain and for senators who will give us the best chance of putting the most conservative justices possible on the Supreme Court. Oh! And by the way, somebody tell the folks who run Washington, D.C. that the tin man is out of oil and the flying monkeys are requesting landing instructions.
Def Mech
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