Scalia concurring
As my friend David noted, this concurring opinion from Justice Scalia in Otis McDonald, et al., v. City of Chicago, Illinois, et al., features Scalia doing what he does best:
"Justice Stevens next suggests that the Second Amendment right is not fundamental because it is 'different in kind' from other rights we have recognized.Post, at 37. In one respect, of course, the right to keep and bear arms is different from some other rights we have held the Clause protects and he would recognize: It is deeply grounded in our nation’s history and tradition. But Justice Stevens has a different distinction in mind: Even though he does “not doubt for a moment that many Americans . . . see [firearms] as critical to their way of life as well as to their security,” he pronounces that owning a handgun is not “critical to leading a life of autonomy,dignity, or political equality.”6Post, at 37–38. Who says? Deciding what is essential to an enlightened, liberty-filled life is an inherently political, moral judgment—the antithesis of an objective approach that reaches conclusions by applying neutral rules to verifiable evidence."
Read the entire opinion here.
"Justice Stevens next suggests that the Second Amendment right is not fundamental because it is 'different in kind' from other rights we have recognized.Post, at 37. In one respect, of course, the right to keep and bear arms is different from some other rights we have held the Clause protects and he would recognize: It is deeply grounded in our nation’s history and tradition. But Justice Stevens has a different distinction in mind: Even though he does “not doubt for a moment that many Americans . . . see [firearms] as critical to their way of life as well as to their security,” he pronounces that owning a handgun is not “critical to leading a life of autonomy,dignity, or political equality.”6Post, at 37–38. Who says? Deciding what is essential to an enlightened, liberty-filled life is an inherently political, moral judgment—the antithesis of an objective approach that reaches conclusions by applying neutral rules to verifiable evidence."
Read the entire opinion here.
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