9th Circuit Refuses to Rehear Controversial Gun Ruling
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to rehear a controversial gun decision that upheld a ban on assault weapons. The underlying issue, whether the Second Amendment conveys an individual right to bear arms, is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
Justice Alex Kozinski penned a sharp dissent to Tuesday's decision not to rehear the challenge to the California ban, taking particular issue with the notion that arming citizens in order to maintain a militia was an outdated relic of the Colonial period that did not apply to modern society where gangs and shootings are rampant in some areas.
In his lengthy and eloquent opinion, Kozinski said that all amendments of the Constitution were to be held in equal esteem. "It is wrong to use some constitutional provisions as spring-boards for major social change while treating others like senile relatives to be cooped up in a nursing home until they quit annoying us," Kozinski said. "As guardians of the Constitution, we must be consistent in interpreting its provisions."