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Around the Water Cooler: Gun Shows Banned
By Rich Grassi
A three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals announced the opinion in Nordyke v. King on Monday. Nordyke is a case out of Alameda County where the county passed an ordinance forbidding firearms on county property, specifically a location where gunshows had been held. This was done because County Supervisor King didn't like gunshows. This was indicated by her statements that she had "been trying to get rid of gun shows on Country property" for "about three years," but she had "gotten the run around from spineless people hiding behind the constitution, and been attacked by aggressive gun toting mobs on right wing talk radio."
At a press conference, King also said that the County should not "provide a place for people to display guns for worship as deities for the collectors who treat them as icons of patriotism." (Both quoted statements are taken from the decision.)
The case having dragged on for years, much of the opinion is tied up in explaining the history, the arguments and decisions past. The bottom line is that plaintiffs wanted the Court of Appeals to examine the case in light of the 2nd Amendment.
The 2nd Amendment is one of those "pre-existing rights" (that is, human rights that predate the existence of the Constitution) that requires incorporation under the 14th Amendment to be applied against state governments of behalf of citizens.
There are interesting statements made in the opinion. I will run only one:
We therefore conclude that the right to keep and bear
arms is "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition."
Colonial revolutionaries, the Founders, and a host of commentators
and lawmakers living during the first one hundred
years of the Republic all insisted on the fundamental nature
of the right. It has long been regarded as the "true palladium
of liberty." Colonists relied on it to assert and to win their
independence, and the victorious Union sought to prevent a
recalcitrant South from abridging it less than a century later.
The crucial role this deeply rooted right has played in our
birth and history compels us to recognize that it is indeed fundamental,
that it is necessary to the Anglo-American conception
of ordered liberty that we have inherited. We are
therefore persuaded that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth
Amendment incorporates the Second Amendment and
applies it against the states and local governments.
Beautiful words, all. I know I couldn't have written it as well.
So, the plaintiffs won, right? Well no. The 2nd Amendment applies to state and local governments but it doesn't apply. Clear? Well, do a web search for the case and read it yourself. My head hurts.
Now, as far as opening the door on the unfair and capricious manner in which concealed carry licenses are issued in California . . . that could get interesting.
We'll keep you posted.