Posted by: Masako
Comment: #2
Sat Jun 28, 2008 11:41 AM
Mood De Jure. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................
Ms. Chavez, I doubt any of the situations you have described would necessarily have benefited by your having a gun stashed somewhere in the house. And they could have turned out a lot worse. In the vast majority of cases, guns cause situations to escalate rather than defuse things, and the "if I only had a gun" wish just serves as a distracting fantasy. .............................................................................................................................................................................................................
The average citizen can't handle using a gun. For most of us, having one is just a symbolic act that represents, among other things, how little crime protection comes from the current mix of the country's threadbare cultural fabric and failing police services. However, I agree with you that all good citizens should be able to have guns. Guns will always be available to criminals absent some Orwellian system none of us want to see, and there just is no good reason why we who feel bound by the law should deprive ourselves of lawful access to them. Criminals depending on their targets not having them may well be a significant part of what drives crime. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
But what does all this have to do with the world of Constitutional fine dining? Is D.C. v. Heller really about the second amendment? Or, like Bush v. Gore, is it just another example of the same old judicial activism you so called conservatives rail against. ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Well, you know how we Americans are. Steven's dissent may have cracked open a bottle of fine white burgundy, but for most of us Scalia's chardonnay grape juice with a kick to it is the stuff of choice this time around. Stevens said "If you please, gents, let's focus on the menu here," to which Scalia replied, "Nah, it's our turn now. Time for some fast food." You just happened to side with the chef's mood du jour. .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Actually, I did too. It's probably the only decision Scalia's ever written that came to a result I can swallow. But let's be honest here. When you get beyond the label, the shape of the bottle, and all the small talk, its what goes down okay and gets the job done for the cheapest price that sells.
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