Justice Breyer – The Founders Would’ve Allowed Gun Bans

The recent Heller and McDonald decisions by the Supreme Court have pretty much ended debate as to whether or not entire gun bans are OK under the Constitution.  It has now been clearly stated that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right.  Just so everyone’s clear, let’s review the Second Amendment.

From the National Archives:

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.

Notice that it is the right of the people, not some group of people the Government designates.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer seems to think they really didn’t mean that.  From Fox News:

He suggested that those values and intentions mean that the Second Amendment allows for restrictions on the individual, including an all-out ban on handguns in the nation’s capital.

“We’re acting as judges. If we’re going to decide everything on the basis of history — by the way, what is the scope of the right to keep and bear arms? Machine guns? Torpedoes? Handguns?” he asked. “Are you a sportsman? Do you like to shoot pistols at targets? Well, get on the subway and go to Maryland. There is no problem, I don’t think, for anyone who really wants to have a gun.”

To which I’d ask Mr. Breyer if he would restrict the First Amendment the same way?  Would it be OK to limit the people to manual printing presses?  How about the fourth or fifth amendments?  Should certain places be allowed to disregard the need for a search warrant or to compel the people to testify against themselves?

Maybe Justice Breyer should consider getting on a boat and going to someplace like Cuba or Venezuela that shares his values rather than having the people go somewhere that respects their Constitutional Rights.