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April 20, 2009
The Second Amendment Wins In California

The opinion in Nordyke v. King was issued this morning. A three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held 3-0 that the Second Amendment is Incorporated against the states via the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The panel went so far as to have a concurrence that an armed populace may even be a wise choice to defend from incidents like the Mumbai attacks.

The sad news was that on procedural grounds, the Nordyke Gun Show lost. The basic rationale was that government is not required to support the exercise of a right which is distinct from actually prohibiting the exercise of the right. Self defense or the right to bear arms were not a part of this case so it is not completely surprising that this sort of restriction might be inside the possible - like a government not supporting abortions in publicly owned facilities.

However, since it is a "loss," the pro-civil rights side is in control of the appeals process which really opens the California (and entire West Coast) courts to challenging things that clearly violate the Second Amendment.

Congratulations to Don Kilmer and Don Kates who are pictured above. Note that the opinion is dated on the first business day after the anniversary of "The Shot Heard 'Round the World."

Posted by hoffmang at 03:50 PM
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