Third Way Dispatch

Imagine this. You’ve been invited to give the keynote address at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention. You stand throngs of thousands with the American flag behind you and the words ‘… cold dead hands’ emblazoned on a screen. You begin:

“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia. (Wild cheers)

“Like most rights, the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited. (scattered murmurs)

“Nothing in the [DC gun ban decision] should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill (audible groans), or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings (a collective gasp), or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms. (booing)

“[There is] another important limitation on the right to keep and bear arms. (the sound of magazine clips being loaded)

“The sorts of weapons protected were those ‘in common use at the time.’ This limitation is fairly supported by the historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of ‘dangerous and unusual weapons.’ (a warning shot is fired into the rafters)

“Nor, correspondingly, does our analysis suggest the invalidity of laws regulating the storage of firearms to prevent accidents. (Medics are called)

These are the exact words (minus the stage directions) in the Scalia decision. And if you happen to be wondering why there has been muted reaction from the NRA, why Wayne LaPierre looked so uncomfortable talking about the decision on Chris Matthews, why NRA hatchet man Chris Cox could only call it a “monumental decision” in a press statement it is because it is what it is: a stinker for the NRA.

The entire NRA argument for the past 40 years is that gun laws would lead to gun confiscation. They warned that every new restriction was a slippery slope, a potential avalanche toward the rock bottom of abandonment of gun rights. Justice Scalia just told them to get a new argument.

The Scalia decision overturns the DC gun ban and it may effect a few other local laws, but the big laws on the books and the big proposed laws are all safe – the Brady Law, assault weapons ban, gun show loophole bill, reporting of secondary sales, beefing up the background check system, and on the state level – licensing, registration, permits to purchase and limitations on concealed carry.

There is a reason the NRA never wanted this case to go to court. It wasn’t because they feared losing. They feared winning. And they won. They won the skirmish over DC and lost the war on whether gun rights and gun restrictions can coexist. The most conservative court in eons said they could and they should.