Reason on Heller v DC
|
I may have linked to this before, but I've been going through old emails and found it again. If you haven't seen this detailed article on the Heller case in Reason, it's worth a read. It covers a lot of the aspects of the case that aren't often mentioned in media coverage -- specifically the opposition of the NRA (seeking consolidation with the Seegars case, then seeking to overturn the DC law through Congressional legislation before it could b heard). It also has one tidbit that almost surprised me: "It makes all the difference in the world that this one guy went down and filled out an absolutely meaningless piece of paper which you knew in advance was a futile act," Neily says. "It was not intentional on the part of Alan, Bob, and myself, but it was intentional on the part of Dick and Dane, and it was very important that Dane had that insight and did that." Heller slid in because he had a permit denied: a clear injury with a paper trail.I picked up on the importance of Heller's application from basically the first moment that standing came up as a possible issue. In fact I remember complimenting Alan and the rest of the legal team at a very early stage for having thought to include it. I was surprised at the time that they were reluctant to take credit for the idea, and didn't necessarily think it would make a lot of difference. There was case law (based on the First Amendment) to back them up on the idea that making an application was not strictly necessary to challenge a law. Yet, having made that application became absolutely crucial. |
Check the groups below and enter your email address to receive updates by email:
The trackback URL for this entry is: http://triggerfinger.org/weblog/servlet/trackback/7567
No trackbacks have been posted so far.