I generally take a dim view of gun-control laws, believing they do more harm than good (i.e., making the law-abiding more vulnerable to criminals). That said, today’s decision by the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) in McDonald vs. City of Chicago does not have me rejoicing.
The further expansion of the SCOTUS’s 14th Amendment “Incorporation Doctrine” (a doctrine of contested validity) means simply that states, counties, and cities now have less ability to determine what policies are best for themselves regarding firearms than they had prior to this SCOTUS decision.
I urge all of you to join me in e-mailing or calling the aldermen and mayor of the City of Chicago to encourage them to nullify this SCOTUS ruling.
Aldermen contact information:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/about/wards.html
Mayor contact information:
MayorDaley@CityofChicago.org
Telephone number for the Mayor’s Office – (312) 744-9500
I think the best thing the City Government can do, aside from ignoring the ruling, is to hold a referendum on the issue. Let the citizens of Chicago determine whether the ruling is constitutional or not; let them decide whether they want more power in the hands of Washington judges, executives, and legislators or more power in the hands of their local elected officials.
A referendum result in the City’s favor would be a powerful weapon in their hands should it decide to resist this ruling.
Send along a copy of Dr. Thomas Woods’s new post about his book Nullification if you e-mail any of these individuals. They will need all the resources they can muster to defy a Supreme Court decision of this magnitude: http://www.lewrockwell.com/woods/woods142.html
Whatever our views on the 2nd Amendment and gun control laws, if we are serious about decentralization of power and limited constitutional government, we must support Chicago in her hour of need.
Hasten to the ramparts, friends of liberty.
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