Supreme Court Fails on 2A
The US Supreme Court failed to hear an appeal on Second Amendment rights, further emphasizing why citizens cannot rely on the courts or the government to protect our rights and liberties. This is the reason for the Ninth and Tenth Amendments reserving ultimate political authority to the people and to the states. The rulings in Heller and McDonald holding that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is an individual right including the right of armed self-defense have not stopped the petty tyrants in state governments and lower federal courts from doing everything in their power to diminish the Second Amendment.
San Francisco passed an ordinance requiring gun owners to keep handguns in their homes either inoperable or on their person at all times. This ordinance is in clear violation of the language of Heller and McDonald which held that the handgun is the primary self-defense weapon for individuals and making it inoperable or not readily accessible defeats the purpose of the right. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a challenge to this law refusing to follow the logic of the Supreme Court on the meaning of the Second Amendment.
Now, 7 of the 9 justices on the Supreme Court including Chief Justice Roberts, do not feel this violation of constitutional rights warrants review. Only justices Scalia and Thomas wanted to hear the case, but it takes four of the nine to grant review. If the Supreme Court is unwilling to take seriously its own rulings and admonish lower courts for refusing to follow precedent then our rights are meaningless.
At every level of the federal government the Constitution is ignored. The President, Congress and the Courts repeatedly and with impunity disregard the Constitution when it gets in the way of their power or political preference.
Nothing will change however as long as voters continue to elect people to high office who either do not understand or do not care about the Constitution. The time is coming near when we may have to follow in the Founder’s footsteps.
