Cowboy Confessional

I had a moment to spelunk through the the dissenting opinion in Parker v. District of Columbia, whereby the local handgun ban was declared constitutionally void.  Justice Henderson, while rambling somewhat aimlessly in her missive, made the following footnote:

I have not overlooked the language in United States v. Verdugo-Urquidez … to the effect that “the people” as used in various of the first Ten Amendments refers to “a class of persons who are part of a national community or who have otherwise developed sufficient connection with this country to be considered part of that community.” But just as the Tenth Amendment ties the rights reserved thereunder to “the people” of the individual “States,” thereby excluding “the people” of the District … … the Second Amendment similarly limits “the people” to those of the States …

Sanitized and simplified a bit, Justice Henderson claims that Constitutionally protected rights are null and void in the District of Columbia.

This is an amazing view.  Under this legal fiction the city council of D.C. could ban free speech, prevent lawful gatherings, padlock the presses at the Washington Post, arrest people without warrants, suspend jury trials, and more.

Fear such judicial thinking.  Anyone on the bench to whom the simple phrase “the people” could be so tortured is bound to rob you of your freedom.  But all for a good cause naturally. 

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