Legal Misconception fixer for a misconception that is seemingly universal in the media:
The conservative justices have NOT ruled that semi-automatic weapons are protected by 2nd Amendment. They’ve ruled the OPPOSITE (Scalia Heller decision). They specifically said that semi-automatic weapons are NOT protected by the Second Amendment.
They only ruled that a D.C. statute that made it illegal to own a handgun to protect the home violated the 2nd Amendment. Scalia, in fact, went OUT OF HIS WAY to make it clear that conservative Supreme Court majority was NOT saying that ownership of semi-automatic weapons was protected by the 2nd Amendment.
If you are a member of the media (and some of you are), please note this. If you know members of the media, please share this with them.
I am fed up with hearing media figures getting this wrong.
The late Molly Ivins said it best on guns : “I am not anti-gun. I’m pro – knife. Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place you have to catch up with someone to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We’d turn into a nation of great runners. Plus, knives don’t ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning knives.”
“No compromise on banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines.”
Joe Biden campaigning today in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
“Trump has no intestinal fortitude to address gun violence.” Joe Biden taking questions from the media today in Iowa
It’s amazing how we have let the gun lobby dominate the public policy debate on guns.
The fact that this devastating indictment of the absurdity of most of the NRA/gun manufacturers’ arguments by Molly Ivins still sounds refreshing proves just how flabby we who are in favor of gun restrictions have been intellectually.
Kudos to Beto O’Rourke for being a Democrat finally showing some passion on gun insanity.
There are many times I dearly miss the stentorian voice of Senator Ted Kennedy. This is one of them.
And a no less conservative jurist than Warren Burger would agree that radical right wingers changed the plain as day meaning of the Second Amendment to cover militias and not an unlimited personal right to arms. He rightly called it fraud, so should we.
Non – violence is the only weapon we have they cannot outperform with one of their own. anon
I am continuing to see the misconception out there that The courts have ruled that the second amendment protects semi automatic weapons. Somehow we have to get the word out there that this is simply not true.