Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 19
PRACTICAL LEGAL TIP
Currently, the two most important
court decisions fortifying our gun rights
are Heller and McDonald. But those
cases were very, very close to going
the other way! Both were decided by
a 5—4 majority, meaning that if only
one other Supreme Court Justice had
decided differently, our individual right
to possess and carry firearms could
have been severely limited. —Edwin
F. The future of the Second Amendment
How will the Second Amendment be treated going forward? With
the passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, one of the
key supporters and author of the 5—4 decision that was Heller, the
split-down-the-middle Supreme Court truly seemed poised to either
continue protecting firearms rights or backslide to the position that the
Second Amendment only applied to militia activity. When the dust
settled, Justice Scalia’s empty seat ended up going to Neil Gorsuch.
Additionally, the Court’s newest Justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy
Coney Barrett, are presumptive supporters of the right to bear arms.
Oddly, since the appointments of these two Justices, the Court has
continued its hesitancy to hear Second Amendment cases. Despite
this hesitancy, their position on the bench bodes well for the future of
the Second Amendment.
Although Justice Scalia’s opinion in Heller affirmed the right for
individuals to bear arms, it includes the famous caveat: “Like
most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not
unlimited.” D.C. v. Heller, 554 U.S. at 626. That sentence left
8 | CHAPTER ONE
