WASHINGTON, DC — Justice Alito’s opinion for the Court today in McDonald v. City of Chicago correctly finds that the Second Amendment, like other provisions of the Bill of Rights, limits state as well as federal laws. The Court’s opinion accurately chronicles the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment, explaining that the Amendment protects substantive fundamental rights, including the right to bear arms. While the Court declines to revisit The Slaughterhouse Cases or restore the Privileges or Immunities Clause, its opinion favorably cites to scholarship which shows Slaughterhouse should be overruled and the Clause should be restored. It decides not to revisit these profoundly important questions of constitutional law mainly because a robust interpretation of the Due Process Clause has emerged from the Court’s case law as a worthy alternative.
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August, 2010
McDonald v. Chicago: Will the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Apply to the States?
POLICY FORUM
Monday, March 1, 2010
4:00 PM (Reception To Follow)
Featuring:
Ilya Shapiro, Senior Fellow in Constitutional Studies, Cato Institute
Doug Kendall, Founder and President of the Constitutional Accountability Center
Timothy Sandefur, Principal Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation.
Moderator:
Roger Pilon, Vice President for Legal Affairs, Cato Institute.
WASHINGTON, DC — The Supreme Court today re-wrote the Constitution to give corporations—never mentioned in the Constitution—the same right to influence the electoral process as “We the People.”
The federal political process is the centerpiece of our constitutional democracy. Corporations cannot vote in elections, stand for election, or serve as elected officials, but the Court today ruled they can overwhelm the political process using profits generated by the special privileges granted to corporations alone. Two centuries ago, the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Marshall recognized that corporations are artificial creatures of the State, subject to government oversight to ensure they do not abuse the special privileges granted to them. But today, in the name of the First Amendment, the Court gives corporations the right to drown out the voices of individual Americans.
WASHINGTON, DC — “The Supreme Court seemed prepared today to correctly rule that substantive fundamental rights, including the Second Amendment, are protected against state action through the Fourteenth Amendment. We are hopeful that the text and history presented in CAC’s brief will inform the Court’s ruling. This case presents a unique opportunity for the Court to return to first principles and get the Constitution’s text and history correct.
DATE: June 21, 2010
CONTACT: Doug Kendall, 202-296-6889
Constitutional Accountability Center applauds the Senate's confirmation of Solicitor General Elena Kagan to the United States Supreme Court.General Kagan has an exemplary professional record as an attorney, as an academic, as a teacher, and as a public servant; she is overwhelmingly qualified to serve on our Nation's highest court.