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Old June 29, 2010, 12:07 AM   #40
Rotnguns
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Join Date: August 7, 2004
Location: Idaho
Posts: 33
Ok, found a quote about Heller from FreeLibrary:


Heller argued that the D.C. gun ban was unconstitutional no matter which standard of review the Supreme Court applied. Accordingly, said Heller, the Court did not have to address the standard of review question. On the other hand, should the Court decide to tackle that issue, Heller urged that "strict," not heightened, scrutiny be the standard. (10) To justify a gun control regulation under strict scrutiny, the government would have to demonstrate a compelling need for the law and then show that any restrictions were narrowly tailored--that is, no more invasive than necessary to achieve the government's objectives. (11) Traditionally, the Court has been more rigorous in scrutinizing government regulations that infringe on a "fundamental" right: one that is "implicit in the concept of ordered liberty" (12) or "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition[s]." (13) Virtually all of the first eight amendments qualify, (14) and it is difficult to imagine that the right to keep and bear arms is an exception to the rule.

Ultimately, the Court agreed with Heller that D.C.'s ban on all functional firearms in the home is unconstitutional "[u]nder any of the standards of scrutiny [the Court has] applied to enumerated constitutional rights." (15) But the Court did not choose a specific standard. In later cases it might apply something less than the strict scrutiny standard that Heller had suggested. On the other hand, the Court categorically rejected "rational basis" scrutiny, which has been a rubber stamp for nearly all legislative enactments. (16) The Court also rejected Justice Stephen Breyer's "interest-balancing" test, which is merely a repetition of the process that legislatures already go through in crafting regulations. (17) Something higher is demanded, said Justice Scalia, when an express constitutional right is at issue. (18) At a minimum, it appears that the Court will adopt some version of intermediate or heightened scrutiny.
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