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Heller analysis

Much has been and will be written about this morning's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Scotusblog provides this bottom line summary: "Individuals have a constitutional right to possess a basic firearm (the line drawn is unclear, but is basically those weapons in general lawful use and does not extend to automatic weapons) and to use that firearm in self-defense. The government can prohibit possession of firearms by, for example, felons and the mentally ill. And it can also regulate the sale of firearms, presumably through background checks. The Court leaves open the constitutionality of a licensing requirement. D.C.'s laws are invalidated. The handgun ban is unconstitutional. The Court treats the District's trigger lock requirement as categorical and not including a self-defense exception...continue to full post

Full post as published by Harmful Error on June 26, 2008 (boomark / email).