2nd Amendment National Right?

[loudshirt]

I was reading the article about how the Supreme Court is appearing to uphold the 2nd Amendment as a "National Right" Kind of funny I thought that the Constitution and all Amendments were National you know during prohibition you could not drink in any state, after the Civil Rights Movement you could not keep people from voting in any state because of the color of their skin. So confused about that a little.

Here is my real question for you. Would it be better as a whole to have "National Gun Laws". By that I mean only one set of laws no matter where you are in the U.S. with little variance from state to state. Or to have the system we do now so that a gun that is legal in one state is illegal in another state?

 

[poopgiggle]

I was reading the article about how the Supreme Court is appearing to uphold the 2nd Amendment as a "National Right" Kind of funny I thought that the Constitution and all Amendments were National you know during prohibition you could not drink in any state, after the Civil Rights Movement you could not keep people from voting in any state because of the color of their skin. So confused about that a little.

Read up on incorporation doctrine regarding the 14th Amendment. The 2nd Amendment hasn't been incorporated against the states, so it doesn't bind state and local governments, only the Federal government. That's what the McDonald case they argued today was about, and based on the transcript and Internet law wonk analysis it's looking hopeful.

Here is my real question for you. Would it be better as a whole to have "National Gun Laws". By that I mean only one set of laws no matter where you are in the U.S. with little variance from state to state. Or to have the system we do now so that a gun that is legal in one state is illegal in another state?

There are some national laws that prevent state and local governments from being total dicks. For example, Federal law says that it's legal to transport a firearm through an area in which it is illegal to possess provided that it's legal to possess at your source and destination, and that the firearm is unloaded and locked up. So, if you're driving from Tulsa to an IPSC 3-gun shoot in Michigan and you travel through Chicago, it's OK for you to have your pistol and "assault rifle" locked up in your trunk even though those are illegal within city limits.

I think the 10th Amendment in general is a good thing, so in principle I'm in favor of individual states and municipalities being able to decide things that aren't within the purview of the Federal government. However, I think that a baseline of 2nd Amendment rights should be established that states may not infringe, which is what will happen with McDonald hopefully.