June 26, 2008
Supreme Court gets one right and one very, very wrong.
The U.S. Supreme Court split 5-4 in two major decisions today and yesterday, holding that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms in District of Columbia v. Heller, with the four liberal justices (Breyer, Ginsburg, Souter and Stevens) dissenting, and that the death penalty is a violation of the 8th Amendment when the person facing execution merely raped a child, instead of murdering her, too, in Kennedy v. Louisiana (Breyer, Ginsburg, Suiter and Stevens joined by Kennedy in this one).
Time constraints will keep me from writing more for the moment, but let me leave you with this: Obama said that he was against yesterday's decision sparing the life of a man who raped his own step-daughter so savagely that he tore her vagina apart, then called a friend for advice on getting blood out of his rug, noting that his little girl "had become a woman."
But Obama also has said that he'd appoint justices like Ginsburg, Suiter, Stevens and Breyer, who found that protecting the pedophile rapist's "dignity" was more important that punishing him for his depraved crime.
And Obama opposed Alito and Roberts, and would have voted against Scalia and Thomas.
Which means, notwithstanding his protestations to the contrary, this anti-death penalty, pro-rapist decision is exactly the kind of thing we'd get from a court packed with Obama appointees.
Posted by Mike Lief at June 26, 2008 07:20 AM
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Comments
Finally, the Supreme Court gets the Second Amendment reasonably settled. I noted the opinion of the court stated the plaintiff was a special Officer, (unknown what that was) but the media (Yahoo) characterizes him as a security guard. I have not mulled my way through the 150 plus pages of official opinions, but this looks to be a positive step in the right direction.
On the Obama front, we are DOOMED!
Posted by: Robert Arabian at June 26, 2008 08:58 AM
I'm not a fan of guns, but I am a fan of Constitutional rights. I think that the decision, though a step in the right direction, in terms of protecting the 2nd Amendment, does not go nearly far enough in terms of what the Amendment actually says.
Scalia apparently was too scared to take a principled stand and say the 2nd amendment protects all types of "arms" and does not limit who can carry them either.
Felons and the mentally retarded are included in "the people" and should not be precluded from possessing arms. And what part of the 2nd amendment Scalia thinks says that particular types of weapons and concealed weapons are subject to regulation is unclear. Or that these arms can properly be limited in terms of where they can be carried is also unclear. Why guns and explosives can't be carried on planes, for example, is because Scalia travels on planes, not because the 2nd Amendment permits the limitation.
What is clear is that Scalia had an agenda, but it had nothing to do with any principles. Scalia is an intellectually bankrupt whore of the Right.
Scalia doesn't like the result of having a principled stand regarding the 2nd Amendment, but if you're going to claim to be a principled person, at least have the courage to adhere to the principles.
Posted by: Bull Buttz at June 27, 2008 03:34 PM