Chalk One Up for the Constitution… and Independence Institute’s Dave Kopel
Posted on June 26th, 2008 in Commemorative, General, Second Amendment | No Comments »
Once in awhile, the U.S. Supreme Court gets it right. Today that’s the case with the 5-4 landmark ruling in DC v Heller that overturns the Washington, D.C., gun ban and sets the Second Amendment on the solid terrain intended by our nation’s Founders. Around the Independence Institute, where research director Dave Kopel is one of the most renowned experts in the field, this makes for a busy day, and one of celebration.
Dave authored a friendly brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of the Institute and numerous law enforcement organizations, providing evidence of how citizens owning firearms is important to public safety. Dave also was one of three attorneys who sat at plaintiff Heller’s table during the oral arguments before the Supreme Court earlier this year - an experience he recounts for an iVoices podcast with Jon Caldara.
Dave already gave an interview with local news giant 850 KOA this morning (and who knows what other interviews). He also said he’s working on articles for Pajamas Media, Human Events, and Reason - so you may want to check all those sites for more of his erudite commentary.
In the meantime, the SCOTUS blog has a full copy of the decision (something I have yet to read) and lots of relevant commentary.
I’m waiting for Constructively Reasonable - a law student friend and 2nd Amendment fan - to weigh in.
But all told, Heller is a hugely important favorable decision that will yield lots of analysis and discussion in the coming days. Major congrats and thanks to Dave Kopel for his years of work on the issue, and a major sigh of relief that hopefully proves more than a respite among a recent spate of bad news from our courts and elected legislatures.
And today’s announcement of the decision is remarkably coincidental timing for the Independence Institute’s (sold out) ATF Party!
