Spectator politics

[wendyzski]

Ooh - this could be even BETTER than the time the Mayor snuck in in the middle of the night and stole an airport....

Apparently the Constitution of the United States doesn't apply to Chicago!
Tribune article

Highlights:
City officials expressed confidence the city would prevail in any court challenge, asserting, among other things, that the 2nd Amendment as part of the Bill of Rights restricts the federal government and does not apply to state and local governments....

"We are confident that this does not invalidate Chicago's ordinance at this point," said Jennifer Hoyle, spokeswoman for the city Law Department.

Benna Solomon, deputy corporation counsel for the city, asserted that the Supreme Court decision applies only to the federal government. Washington D.C., she said, is part of the federal government, but Chicago is an independent home-rule unit of Illinois.


So basically all this means is that the challenge to the Chicago handgun ban will have to go to a federal court before being struck down. Might as well get started then....

Comments

[jmthane.livejournal.com]

Why am I not surprised? Sounds like the City's legal counsel needs a refresher course in whose law trumps the other.

[jcw-da-dmg.livejournal.com]

this could be even BETTER than the time the Mayor snuck in in the middle of the night and stole an airport....
. . . and will probably be remembered by the electorate just as well; IE, not at all.

[jmaynard.livejournal.com]

I refuse to leave any more of my money in Chicago than I absolutely have to because of Meigs Field.

However, Hizzoner has a point: the decision, as written, did not address whether the Second Amendment is incorporated to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment in the same way as, say, the First and Fourth Amendments are. They hinted strongly at it, but didn't come right out and sasy it. Thus, it'll take another lawsuit to make that point. The good news is that the NRA is filing such a lawsuit even as I type this (if they haven't already).

[wendyzski.livejournal.com]

Already been filed :)

[rose1thorn.livejournal.com]

A recent quote from King Richard II: "Everything in this city you have to worry about lawyers. I would never get anything done of I worried about lawyers."

He has never, nor will he ever, worried about the law...unless it suits his purposes, that is.

[petmoosie.livejournal.com]

Technically, the ruling doesn't apply to Chicago, not because Chicago (or IL) is special, but because DC is.

DC is a federal territory, like ... no other. Puerto Rico is different, the Samoas are different, Guam is different, the Canal Zone was different (now, it's a perfectly ordinary part of Panama, that the US regards as a reason to invade Panama whenever we feel like it, hmmm.)

Any way, DC is where Congress experiments. And perhaps where the Supreme Court experiments.

If they wanted to have a widespread ruling, instead of a series of other lawsuits, they should have picked someplace else.

[bristolrogue1.livejournal.com]

Actually this wasn't the courts experiment. It all came down because DC wouldn't let DCPD officer keep a weapon after hours for home protection. Also from what the decision said, NO city can ban the ownership of handguns. Richie really does believe he's special. The airport thing shows it. Funny thing about that situation, he stole the airport for more park space, but now he wants to move a museum into Grant Park. A little two face there methinks.

[petmoosie.livejournal.com]

Usually, in a situation like this, the Court has an array of similar cases and picks the one it likes best. But if no similar cases were available, and they want to make a ruling, they have to go with the cases available.