Antonin Scalia's majority opinion simply affirms what anyone fluent in English would conclude after reading the constitutional text at issue: The Second Amendment protects an individual right.
The Amendment reads, "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." As the opinion translates, this means, "Because a well regulated Militia is necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." This is not at all the same as saying that only militia members can bear arms, or that "the people" can only bear arms for militia-related purposes. The latter clause describes the right and describes it as belonging to "the people," while the former merely announces a purpose.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Editors on District of Columbia v. Heller on National Review Online
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