I previewed the Heller case six months ago here. Check that for a primer. Oral argument (transcript) was held yesterday, in this, the momentous Second Amendment gun rights case. In the balance: whether and to what degree a governmental entity may regulate the possession of firearms – a major social/cultural issue in American political life.

Two excellent articles discussing the case and the oral argument can be found here (I tend to agree) and here.

From another great set-up piece:

In 1991, former Chief Justice Warren Burger even described the “individual rights” view of the Second Amendment as “one of the greatest pieces of fraud—I repeat the word ‘fraud’—on the American public by special interest groups [the National Rifle Association] that I have ever seen in my lifetime.”

Great quote. I laughed. The last time the High Court considered the Second Amendment (United States v. Miller (1939)), it sided with the militia-centric view and allowed ample regulation. 

After yesterday’s oral argument, however, it appears to many commentators that a five Justice majority is ready to find an individual right to bear arms in the Second Amendment, with a corresponding reduction of regulation. Looking forward to the Opinion(s) in this case.

B