(Dr. Lott interview on The Steve Gruber Show: February 17, 2016)
Dr. John Lott talks with Radio Show Host Steve Gruber about his reaction of the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Dr. Lott explains that the Heller decision, (with a 5-4 vote) may not hold according to what the liberal justices have said. Those four liberal Justices have said that given the chance, they would overturn the Heller decision. We are just one Justice away from giving them a five vote majority to go and be able to do that. If Heller were overturned, then local governments could ban all guns. There are some local governments that would try to do that. Places like California & New York would most likely be the first to start these complete bans. There will be Sheriffs in some places who will refuse to enforce ban laws they see as unconstitutional.
No matter its interpretation, the Second Amendment’s very existence is a dilemma for proponents of federal restrictions on the right of the people to keep and bear arms. Whatever alternative historical view a future Supreme Court may adopt (if given the chance to overturn Heller) the plain text of the amendment itself cannot be erased.
The narrowest possible interpretation of the Second Amendment surely prohibits Congress from interfering with the ability of a State to call up for service volunteer militia forces drawn from its own citizenry, who would be expected to furnish their own private arms. Indeed, both Heller dissenting opinions describe the Second Amendment in just such a manner, an individual right still enforceable against Congress, at least in theory anyway.
Does the political will exist in any of our freedom-loving states to turn such legal theory into reality? I sincerely believe and hope so. There are encouraging present day examples of such popular will manifesting itself. We’ve seen several States enact extraordinary and unprecedented firearms freedom legislation purporting to prohibit state agencies from enforcing federal gun control laws. Given that the very nature of these acts constitute insubordination, it is not too hard to imagine one of these States upping the ante, so to speak.
Consider the profound constitutional implications should a state legislature ever find the backbone to declare nearly all its law-abiding adult citizens automatic members of the State’s (unorganized) militia. It would be unquestionably within the State’s perogative to further designate the preferred type of arms that citizens would be expected privately own and subsequently furnish in the event of a call-up as being detachable magazine semi-automatic (or automatic) firearms! Such a prospect should be enough to cause advocates of alternative Second Amendment interpretations to reconsider what they wish for.