2012 and The Supreme Court

Sebastian over on Shall Not Be Questioned (formerly Snowflakes in Hell), shared this quote from former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens regarding the Heller and McDonald decisions, from an article appearing in Time magazine:

I would change the interpretation of the Second Amendment. The court got that quite wrong. Gun policy should be handled by legislatures and by states, not by federal judges appointed for life.

Sebastian writes that the Second Amendment will never really be safe until we stop hearing this type of thinking from left-leaning judges, and we get judges on the bench who are willing to uphold the Second Amendment.  I would add that, above all else, this should be what motivates every gun owner, even those who do not generally get involved in campaigns, to become active in next year's presidential campaign and work for the defeat of President Obama, making sure he does not have the opportunity to appoint one or more additional justices similar to Sonia Sotomayor or Elena Kagan.

Justice Kennedy to Stay Through End of Obama First Term

CQ Politics is shares this via the New York Daily News morning that Justice Kennedy, who is 74, plans to stay on the court at least another three years.

"That means Kennedy will be around to provide a fifth vote for the court's conservative bloc through the 2012 presidential election. If Obama loses, Kennedy could retire and expect a Republican President to choose a conservative justice."

Interesting that the NY Daily News headline was "Bad News for Obama: Conservative Justice Kennedy tells pals he's in no rush to leave Supreme Court."

Just one more sign pointing to the high stakes of the 2012 election. If you need a reminder, re-read Dave Kopel's article in last week's Washington Times.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of the Supreme Court opinions in McDonald v. Chicago was the dissenters' assault on District of Columbia v. Heller. Not only did Justice Stephen G. Breyer vote against extending the Second Amendment to state and local governments, he also argued forcefully and at length for overturning Heller and, therefore, for turning the Second Amendment into a practical nullity.

If ever there were a call to arms regarding what is at stake in the next presidential election, it is the make up of the Supreme Court and how a second Obama term could alter the current small originalist majority for a generation and almost overnight overturn the victories of the last three years.

McDonald vs. Chicago

Will the Supreme Court issue its opinion in McDonald vs. Chicago today or will we have to wait until Monday? I will be watching SCOTUS Blog this morning and will post immediately if the Court issues an opinion.

State Firearms Association Amicus Brief in McDonald v Chicago

Late last month the amicus brief that VSSA joined in support of McDonald in the Chicago gun ban case was filed. You can read the brief here. You can see all of the briefs filed in support of McDonald by clicking here.

Other briefs of note include the Members of Congress brief, which was signed by both Sens. Warner and Webb, and all of Virginia's Representatives except Bobby Scott (D-VA3) and Gerald "Gerry" Connolly (D-VA11), the State Legislators brief, signed on to by the following Virginia Delegates and State Senators:

Bill Carrico, State Delegate
Mark Cole, State Delegate
Morgan Griffith, State Delegate
Emmett Hanger, Jr., State Senate
Edd Houck, State Senate
Bill Howell, State Delegate
Robert Hurt, State Senate
Bill Janis, State Delegate
Johnny Joannou, State Delegate
Bob Marshall, State Delegate
Steve Martin, State Senate
Stephen Newman, State Senate
Dave Nutter, State Delegate
Chap Petersen, State Senate
Phillip Preston Prickett, State Senate
Preston Puckett, State Senate
Edward Scott, State Delegate
Beverly Sherwood, State Delegate
Ralph Smith, State Senate
Frank Wagner, State Senate

and Academics for the Second Amendment brief. Also check out the brief filed by Dave Kopel on behalf of the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers, and the NRA brief filed by VSSA's own Stephen Halbrook.