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Is anyone (other than me) discussing the apparent insignificance of Heller?

By Douglas A. Berman

I noticed over at The Volokh Conspiracy reports on a lecture and a symposium focused on the Heller Second Amendment case.  It seems that both events take as a given that Heller is an important decision.  But activity today at the Supreme Court has me wonderign again if the Heller decision means anything consequential at all.  As previously noted here, the Justices heard oral argument today in US v. Hayes, which concerns the interpretation and reach of a federal gun law ? 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) ? which criminalizes any and all gun possession by anyone previous convicted of the wrong kind of misdemeanor.  If Heller really articulated and safeguarded some kind of meaningful constitutional right under the Second Amendment, at least some of the argument in Hayes should have been about the scope of constitutional gun rights and/or whether the doctrine of constitutional doubt should limit the application of the gun possession crime set forth in § 922(g)(9)...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on November 10, 2008 (boomark / email).