The following post was written by David J. Schenck of the Jones Day office in Dallas. He filed an amicus brief on behalf of State Firearm Associations in support of the respondents. Via SCOTUSblog (all emphasis mine):
It is not hyperbole to describe today’s decision in Heller as the most significant opinion of this century, and likely, of the last two generations. Two particular thoughts immediately come to mind. First, the extent to which today’s decision effectively opens the door for future litigation regarding the Second Amendment to further clarify the extent of the now confirmed, but long understood, individual right to keep and bear arms. Second, this is an election year. This decision, closely divided as it is, will likely provide a rallying cry for the millions of the Americans who recognize that their Second Amendment rights came down to a single vote.
In reading Justice Scalia’s opinion, there is an overwhelming theme that to interpret the Second Amendment as not protecting an individual right would gut the amendment of meaning and defy logic. It is, after all, the Second Amendment, not the two hundredth. This is not an obscure line buried among thousands of pages of text. It is inconceivable that the framers would have given it the priority they did, placing it ahead of so many other critical rights, if they only meant it to apply to militias as the dissenting justices suggest.
It doesn’t take a mathematician to recognize the narrow margin in this case. Replace any one of the five justices in the majority with a more liberal appointment - many of whom will be waiting in line if Barack Obama wins the presidency - and the outcome would have flipped. Americans would have lost the individual right to keep and bear arms. For some, this may be a welcome change, but for many of us, it’s the sort of thought that makes the hairs on the back of our necks stand up. Of course, there’s now precedent going forward, which helps. But this litigation is, as discussed above, only the beginning. Thus, the close margin and ideological division of this decision will likely serve as a reminder that, like it or not, whoever occupies the White House for the next four or eight years will, through his appointments, directly impact Second Amendment rights for perhaps the next century. This will no doubt have at least some effect as Americans cast their ballots in November.
Second Amendment, keep and bear arms
