A Liberal Court Could Limit Reach of 'Heller'

[SecularMotion]

New restrictions on guns a possibility.

Less than 24 hours after the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz told Meet The Press: "We are one justice away from the Second Amendment being written out of the Constitution altogether."

Of the two U.S. Supreme Court decisions most often mentioned by candidates and others as being on the chopping block if the court's majority shifts to the left — the Citizens United campaign-finance decision and the Second Amendment gun ruling in Heller — the least likely to be overruled is the latter, according to legal scholars and others.

But, they add, that doesn't mean a new left-leaning majority would do anything to extend Heller.

"I guess I would say if Cruz is being hyperbolic, it's not by much," said Nelson Lund of George Mason University School of Law, a Second Amendment scholar who supports the Heller decision.

http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202750196416/A-Liberal-Court-Could-Limit-Reach-of-Heller

[TeddyR]

1. I largely agree with this article

The Supreme Court isn't going to reverse Heller but just like any other case could interpret it in a manner that significantly limits its reach. For example, the Supreme Court certainly could say Heller applies only to a gun in the home and not the right to open/concealed carry. That being said, I believe the discussion is largely academic -- support for expanded gun rights continues to grow, as does the number of individuals who own guns, while gun violence continues to shrink. And while something like UBCs are popular, more stringent gun control laws have little support, and I don't think there's any chance that Congress will do anything on gun control any time soon, and of course the state governments largely support gun rights.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

2. I don't think the SC likes to reverse previous rulings ...

... but I sure hope they reverse Citizens United.