Some lessons can only be learned the hard way, and this holds true for state lawmakers and even appeals court jurists. Despite the crystal clear guidance provided by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision and others, many still believe they are free to ignore precedent and plot their own path.
With this in mind, the National Rifle Association (NRA) on Monday filed an amicus brief to the high court urging justices to grant certiorari in the legal challenge to Maryland’s controversial “assault weapons” ban.
Bruen went far in reestablishment of the Founding Fathers’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms. Then there’s the 2008 Heller decision, which determined that only “dangerous and unusual” firearms are subject to a government ban.
Of course, this hardly applies to the AR-15, the most popular sporting rifle in the U.S.
But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit thumbed its nose at the Supreme Court and upheld Maryland’s prohibition. The panel incredibly referred to Heller’s “ill-conceived popularity test” and concluded that such guiding principles result in “absurd consequences.”
In other words, the Fourth Circuit decided it was not bound by Heller and instead forged ahead with its own conclusions. Plaintiffs argued the ban violated the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, but the court disagreed.
U.S. Circuit Judge Harvie Wilkinson wrote for the majority. “We decline the wield the Constitution to declare that military-style armaments which have become primary instruments of mass killing and terrorist attacks in the United States are beyond the reach of our nation’s democratic processes.”
Perhaps the esteemed jurist would be better served by realizing that the Constitution and the Supreme Court are not things to be “wielded.” Rather, they are layers of protection for fundamental rights that are the bedrock of the Republic.
Judge Julius Richardson dissented, noting that the Second Amendment was never intended to be a second-class right. “Its mandate is absolute and, applied here, unequivocal.”
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