Failure of Principle and Logic
The United States’ Solicitor General, in a naive attempt to safeguard the Government’s current laws regarding the constitutionality of existing federal legislation, including machine-gun regulations, filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the D.C. vs. Heller case before the Supreme Court. The Goldwater Institute, a nonprofit, independent, nonpartisan research and educational organization dedicated to the study of public policy, submitted it’s own brief in response to the Administration’s position.
In filing it’s brief, the Administration has effectively sided with anti-gun proponents since the brief recommends that SCOTUS return the question to the lower court for reconsideration. All this will accomplish, sadly, is to postpone a Supreme Court ruling until a later date when the composition of justices may likely rule against the Second Amendment. What a disaster that would be.
The Government’s brief correctly states that the Constitution establishes and requires the Supreme Court to protect the right to keep and bear arms as a personal right, but then urges the court to apply a lower, “intermediate” or “heightened” standard of review to measures that impair this right, rather than the strict scrutiny that traditionally attaches to fundamental personal rights enumerated in the Constitution.
The Goldwater Institute asserts that there is no basis in logic or law to remand the question to lower authorities. According to the Goldwater Institute brief, the Solicitor General demonstrates a failure of principle and logic in the Government’s brief.
Let’s hope that the Supreme Court sees it that way.
References:
D.C. Gun Case - Bob Levy on the Solicitor General’s amicus brief
The Washington Times - Promises Breached (Editorial by Robert levy)
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