Posted by
Gray Ghost on Sunday, June 29, 2008 11:32:12 PM
One aspect of the majority opinion written by Judge Scalia that has not yet attracted the attention of Liberals, but may be of great importance in the long run, is the presence of natural law in the Second Amendment. D.C. vs. Heller reaffirms a point made in the 1876 Cruikshank case. The right to arms is not a right granted by the Constitution. It is a pre-existing natural right. As such it is recognized and protected by the Constitution.
It has always been widely understood by Gun Owners (but not by the Gun Confiscation Crowd) that the Second Amendment, like the First and Fourth Amendments, codified a pre-existing right. The very text of the Second Amendment implicitly recognizes the pre-existence of the right and declares only that it "shall not be infringed."
In United States v. Cruikshank (92 U. S. 542, 553, 1876), the majority opinion says, "This is not a right granted by the Constitution. Neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence. The Second Amendment declares that it shall not be infringed…"
This is consistent with Blackstone’s language (See 1 Black-stone 136, 139–140, 1765) that the "right to arms" protects the "natural right of resistance and self-preservation."
Justice James Wilson interpreted the Pennsylvania Constitution’s "arms bearing right", for example, as a recognition of the natural right of defense "of one’s person or house". He called this the law of "self preservation." But some federal and state courts have been hostile to "self-defense" or "self preservation" as a right (considering it as a mere privilege, which can be withdrawn by government or even forbidden).
THIS RULING BY THE SUPREME COURT SAYS THE RIGHT TO SELF DEFENSE IS A NATURAL RIGHT, WHICH WAS IN EXSISTENCE BEFORE THE CONSTITUTION.
D.C. vs. Heller moves self-defense from the shadows of the Ninth Amendment ("The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.") into the bright light of the Second Amendment ("A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed").
It is now beyond dispute, in an American court, that self-defense is an inherent right, and that it is protected by the United States Constitution.