In a move both horrifying and non-surprising, the Supreme Court today struck down a New York law regulating guns in public, saying it was unconstitutional based on the 2nd Amendment. In their ruling, the conservative justices said that when the authors of the Constitution wrote “right to bear arms,” they meant everywhere, by everyone, with no limitations.
So now we have a situation where anyone can not only go buy a gun, without a permit, but can also carry that gun pretty much anywhere, again without a permit, without training, and without limitation. (To be honest, I’m not sure if their ruling also blows up the notion of gun-free areas such as schools and hospitals. My first thought is “probably.”)
Congratulations to the gun worshippers and ammo-sexuals on the right, and to Mitch McConnell: you got the justices you wanted, and the rulings you wanted. The milquetoast bill being passed in the Senate is just window-dressing, pushed forward to provide cover for Republicans to do nothing substantive about gun violence, while at the same time raking in the money from the gun industry and putting “2nd Amendment supporter” on their Twitter bio.
Apparently, the gun worshippers among us will not be happy until 6-year-olds are packing heat while learning their ABCs. Or perhaps, their goal is to drive all the rational people out of the country. Or both.
Various officials in New York are saying they plan on crafting new legislation that will restore some sense to gun laws in their state. We shall see.
But here in Kentucky, where we already have no-permit-required carry, concealed carry, open carry, and how-many-guns-can-you-strap-to-your body carry, this new ruling will not have much legal effect – but WILL encourage even more people to purchase guns and carry them everywhere. Just what we need – in a state full of people living on the edge of poverty, with little hope of things changing and little personal power, we’re going to encourage them to buy a gun.
I used to think that many elected Republicans were the biggest threat to our country. I’m reconsidering – the biggest threat to our country may be six right-wing non-elected persons in black robes.
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