The only way to meet the challenge of gun control is to meet it with the boldest possible proposal that will save the most lives and that will tell the opposition that we are not backing down on this issue.

Aishu Sritharan
October 19, 2019
Democratic Debates, the Media, and Gun Control: Why the Needle Isn’t Moving on a Critical Issue
[This seems to be a very naïve viewpoint. Let me suggest a proposal along those lines and see if it works:

No more infringement of our specific enumerated rights! Abolish all gun control laws. Government subsidies for people who can’t afford a gun!

Prosecute those who conspire to infringe upon our rights.*

There. So, what do you think Aishu? Will that help move the needle on this critical issue? Enjoy your trial.—Joe]

* Added at the suggestion of Tirno.

This is a case that literally begs for Supreme Court attention. When the Court ruled in the 2008 Heller case that the Second Amendment protected a fundamental right, it was clear that this right belongs to everyone, not just the residents of an individual state. The Seventh Circuit held in Moore v. Madigan that the carrying of firearms in public for self-defense is a fundamental right, but under existing Illinois restrictions, that right has been limited to Illinois residents and citizens from only four other states.

All the plaintiffs in this case are asking for is to be treated equally to Illinois residents. They’re not asking for special treatment. They will take the training required by state law and abide by all the other rules.

Alan M. Gottlieb
October 11, 2019
SAF SEEKS SCOTUS REVIEW OF IMPORTANT ILLINOIS CARRY CASE
[From a constitutional point of view one has to ask, “What other specific enumerated right requires you to get a background check and undergo training before you can exercise it?”

But, as a practical matter, what is more important at this point is to get the existing oppressive laws struck down. This is how we went from concealed carry only allowed in a few states in the 1980s to now with some form of concealed carry in essentially all states and constitutional carry in 15 states. In the mid 1990s I was skeptical. How, I wondered, would we get from licensed carry to “Vermont Carry” as it was called then? Well, no we know how it is done. Incremental legislative and judicial action.

By taking relatively small easy steps (see also New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. City of New York) to SCOTUS we are building a judicial wall that makes it easier and easier to win the next prize ahead of us.

Had we gone with “Shall. Not. Be. Infringed!” and stuck with that in the 1980s today I believe things would be much different now. I suspect we would be grumbling about needing to apply for a permit to purchase and background checks to acquire one Airsoft gun a month. And a few people, near end of life, futilely telling their grandkids about a few real guns buried underground or in caves.—Joe]

I remember when Federal and most states banned guns within 1000 feet of school property. That was when the school shootings started to became a trend.

Times have changed:

Teachers in seven Florida county school districts will soon be locked and loaded thanks to a state law enacted this month that provides schools with the option to allow teachers to carry concealed guns.

…

According to the Education Commission of the States, at least eight other states allow some teachers or other school employees to have guns. They include Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.

Since 2018, legislation to allow teachers and other school staff to carry firearms has been proposed in a handful of additional states, including Washington, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Oklahoma.

It’s about time.