Obama and guns
Second amendment expert says not to worry:
With Obama’s record on gun control which includes endorsing an Illinois handgun ban, co-sponsoring a bill to limit purchases to one gun per month and supporting a ban on semi-automatic weapons gun owners in big cities and small towns throughout the country are concerned that their Second Amendment rights may come under attack in an Obama administration and are buying up guns and ammunition in record numbers.
An expert on U.S. colonial law at Washington University in St. Louis who consulted on the recent Second Amendment case argued before the Supreme Court says that the right of the people to keep and bear arms most likely will not be an issue that Obama will address as president early in his term if at all.
“My sense is that Obama does not want to interfere with an issue that will, for the time being, be left up to the states,” says David T. Konig, Ph.D., professor of history and director of the Legal Studies Program, both in Arts & Sciences, and professor of law. “The issue will turn to controls, such as sales at gun shows or other limited restrictions on purchases.”
I’ll hope he’s right but plan for the alternative.
Update: Turns out, this guy was on the losing side in the Heller case. So much for being an expert.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Yep. You can access their brief here
January 6th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
An expert on U.S. colonial law at Washington University . . .
Er . . . “colonial law”?
January 6th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
Hey, anyone who can convince 4 Supreme Court Justices that “up” means “down,” “black” means “white” and “shall not be infringed” means “may be wiped out altogether” must be an expert in something.
January 6th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Wishfull misdirection and smoke-blowing, Mr. Bane says otherwise. Who would you believe; an wrong-side cloistered ivory-tower academic, a fabulist truth-twister like Bellesiles, or someone out in the real world?
January 6th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
The issue will turn to CONTROLS, such as sales at gun shows or other limited restrictions on purchases.
And we all know what “controls” usually lead up to.
January 6th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Messing around with gun show sales is no small matter, Dr. Konig.
Kurt–I agree; Should read British North American Colonial Law if he studies American history from the colonial period. Sounds like Dr. Konig needs to consult Stephen Halbrook’s latest work, which hadn’t gone to press yet by the time of the Heller case.
[Unless he studies how the U.S. administered the Philippines after the Spanish-American War, or Hawaii before it became a state, that sort of thing…]
January 6th, 2009 at 5:39 pm
David Konig is a professor of history and law. He is not a professor of political science specializing in public policy, modern legislative politics, or modern Presidential politics. As such, he is no more and no less than what we are – interested observers and not experts. His comments on what and when the Obama administration will do on guns and gun control policy have no more special relevance than those of any gun blogger.
January 7th, 2009 at 10:41 am
This may have already been uncovered here, but I just saw it today. It is certainly worth a read and debate.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=85507