If there is anything more controversial — and shocking — than saying, “There is no god,” it would be declaring “the world would be a *MUCH* better place without any guns.” Further, lest you think I’m just an idealist (which gun owners believe is dangerous enough), I’d vote/pray/wish/beg/pay for the destruction of any guns possible. But relax, gun owners, you’re safe and secure, even though you live in fear that you might not be so. There will never be a day in America when you can’t own a kill-stick. Maybe the real solution is a spell that guarantees the only people ever hurt by guns own them. Now, that’s too idealistic. peace, mjh

E. J. Dionne Jr. – The D.C. Handgun Ruling

In his intemperate dissent in the court’s recent Guantanamo decision, Scalia said the defense of constitutional rights embodied in that ruling meant it “will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed.” That consideration apparently does not apply to a law whose precise purpose was to reduce the number of murders in the District of Columbia. [mjh: Impeach Scalia!] …

[I] hope this decision opens people’s eyes to the fact that judicial activism is now a habit of the right, not the left, and that “originalism” is too often a sophisticated cover for ideological decision-making by conservative judges.