Supreme Court's Blunder on Gun Rights

By Douglas V. Gibbs

The U.S. Constitution applies to the federal government except where specifically noted otherwise.

When the Supreme Court decision in the Chicago hand-gun ban case came down that basically guaranteed gun rights in all cities and states, my phone began ringing off the hook. "We won," said the callers.

I said, "I am not so sure we won."

I am uneasy anytime the federal government tells a city or state what they have to do. I do not believe the 14th Amendment is so clear regarding applying the Bill of Rights to the States. Just because I am happy about the protection of gun rights, it does not mean I am in agreement with the constitutional angle used.

Let me put it this way. If we give the federal government the right to tell cities they have to allow gun ownership, what stops them from doing the opposite later? This case creates a precedent of allowing the federal government to dictate to the states and cities what they have to do, and in that I recognize a great danger to state sovereignty.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary