But, there are some very good arguments for the other view expressed in prior Supreme Court decisions. This is one of them.
"Let the Golden Age End" by publius, Obsidian Wings
Excerpts
If I were the plaintiffs in the Heller Second Amendment case, I would file an amicus brief with nothing but the HBO John Adams mini-series attached. Looking back to 18th century Boston, it’s much easier to see how guns and militias provided important checks on government overreach. The problem, though, is that the colonial era has passed. The expansive gun rights of that era would have far different effects in post-industrial urban society.
...the broader point is that several strands of conservative jurisprudence seem to assume a world that doesn’t exist anymore. Specifically, they assume a world where urbanization and industrialization hasn’t happened.
...I think, turns on the type of place you live in. If your world is 18th century Massachusetts, then broad gun rights make a lot of sense. If your world is a densely-populated housing project in the Bronx, then broad gun rights make much less sense. Indeed, they create very dangerous environments. And if your world is rural Montana, then the policy rationale shifts back the other way. Given these variations, it seems like the obvious answer is to defer to legislatures (which requires a more collective view). The elected leaders of Montana can do what they want, while DC can do what it wants. And long as Congress doesn't ban militias, we're all good.
The broader point, though, is that the analysis should acknowledge changing conditions. Extreme gun rights advocates like to pretend we all live in John Adams’ world. In that world, millions of complete strangers don’t live right on top of each. There, militias actually do further liberty. In our world, however, things are different. Millions of strangers are in fact clustered together. In our world, nuclear-powered industrialized armies have far more formidable weapons than muskets and cannons.
To be clear, I’m not saying we should ban guns. I’m just saying the Second Amendment is an artifact from a different era, and that its artifact-ness should influence our reading of it. More specifically, the fact that it’s a relic of the musket era should, at the least, allow modern legislatures some leeway in interpreting it.
The full article deals with the whole issue of how our Constitution should be interpreted. Strict-intent (of our Founding Fathers) vs seeing our Constitution as a "living" document.
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