Does the D.C. gun case hinge on whether gun control reduces violence?
Available evidence strongly suggests that violence will diminish if Americans are able to defend themselves by possessing suitable firearms. But even if that policy argument were to cut the other way – even if it could be demonstrated that more gun laws lead to less crime – Parker is not really about policy. It’s about the meaning of the Constitution. We cannot simply ignore the Second Amendment and act as though it did not exist. As a nation, we have chosen to have a written Constitution for good reason, and it has served us well for more than two centuries. The Second Amendment is part of that Constitution, and it is entitled to the same respect that other rights – both written and unwritten – are given by the Supreme Court.
