Incorporating the Second Amendment:
What is the Real Story?
The primary issue that remains before courts begin to strike down unconstitutional state and local firearms laws is "Incorporation." This is the legal term for applying our rights against the Federal government, including those that are spelled out in the Bill of Rights as well as those that have not been enumerated against the States through the Fourteenth Amendment.
Some who are motivated by certain political points of view will try to opine that the 14th Amendment doesn't mean what it says and therefore the Privileges or Immunities Clause doesn't limit the states. Often these are individuals who are otherwise sympathetic to gun rights. However, just as we could not let those who were anti-gun misread the original popular understanding of the 2nd Amendment; we should not allow those on our side to be equally hypocritical. As my signature on Calguns.net puts it, "the problem with being a gun rights supporter is that the left hates guns and the right hates rights." The 14th Amendment was meant to bind the states to at least the first eight amendments. We should all hope that the Supreme Court follows the text and original popular understanding that the 2nd Amendment is one of the Privileges or Immunities of the 14th Amendment and thus the 2nd Amendment limits the States.
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