| This is what the enemies of the 2nd Amendment are Saying. "Thank you, Scalia, for the unexpected, unnecessary, but much appreciated engraved invitation to regulate the s**t out of this "individual right."
Selections from this morning's news:
"In limiting its opinion to the matter of self-defense, and in saying the right is not absolute, the United States Supreme Court decision today is an explicit statement of support for cities all across America who are creating reasonable measures to limit the ability of those who will do harm, who will maim, who will buy, carry weapons illegally," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said.
San Francisco bars people from carrying handguns on county property, including in parks, schools and community centers. Newsom said city attorneys have been researching new regulations that might place tighter controls on ammunition and further restrict where guns could be carried.
District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty responded with a plan to require residents of the nation's capital to register their handguns. "More handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence," Fenty said. (Gosh, now that the ban has been overturned, I wonder what the reasonable requirements will be for registration.)
The high court said nothing in its ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings." (That quote is in every news story.)
Some states, like New Jersey and Massachusetts, weren't so concerned about the decision, believing the court had expressed its distaste for D.C.'s flat-out ban but left room for some firearms regulation. "We regulate the possession of handguns - we don't ban handguns," said New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram. "But we have strict licensing requirements, and we are prepared to maintain those requirements and vigorously enforce our laws." New Jersey requires purchasers of any firearm to obtain a permit before purchase. Federal law only requires purchasers have a background check at the time of purchase.
In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said "fighting illegal guns has nothing to do with the Second Amendment rights of Americans." He said local authorities "have a responsibility to crack down on illegal guns and punish gun criminals, and it is encouraging that the Supreme Court recognizes the constitutionality of reasonable regulations."
"Leading gun-control advocates, such as the Brady Center, are already spinning Heller as a victory: They claim the gun-rights lobby's strength is based on stoking the public's slippery-slope fears that any gun regulation is a forerunner to a total ban. With that ban now impossible, gun-control advocates believe they'll have more ability to restrict sales, possession and carrying in ways short of prohibition." Cato Institute
Bend over and prepare to be reasonably regulated.
Last edited by 5.56X45mm; June 28th, 2008 at 19:58.
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