Supreme Court Discusses “Pre-Existing Right” to Keep and Bear Arms
By: Houston Criminal Attorney John Floyd and Paralegal Billy Sinclair
There have been several recent national news reports concerning the dramatic increase in the sale of firearms, particularly in Texas, since the election of Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. The day after Obama was elected, the Cheaper than Dirt gun store in Fort Worth, Texas sold $101,000 worth of merchandise. Guns stores throughout Virginia have reported that sales have increased by 50 percent since Election Day. The FBI reported that by October 26, 2008 there were 62,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007 – a 25% increase.
There is an unbridled fear among gun advocates that President-elect Obama has some “secret” plan to disarm America. This fear exists despite a ruling by the United States Supreme Court on June 26, 2008 upholding a decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Parker v. District of Columbia, 478 F.3d 103 (D.C. Cir. 2007), that struck down a longstanding ban on the possession of handguns in the District of Columbia. See: District of Columbia b. Heller, 128 S.Ct. 2783, 171 L.Ed.2d 637 (2008).
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: “A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
The language of this amendment has been the subject of constitutional interpretation since its adoption on September 17, 1787. Over the last three decades the meaning of the Amendment has been one of the most hotly debated social and political issue in America. Two basic interpretations have evolved from this debate – both of which were put squarely before the Supreme Court in Heller.
Gun control proponents argue that the Second Amendment protects only the right to possess and carry a firearm in connection of with militia service. (more…)
