My heroes this week are the judges on the DC circuit court, who have made a fantastic Constitutional decision:

To summarize, we conclude that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms. That right existed prior to the formation of the new government under the Constitution and was premised on the private use of arms for activities such as hunting and self-defense, the latter being understood as resistance to either private lawlessness or the depredations of a tyrannical government (or a threat from abroad). In addition, the right to keep and bear arms had the important and salutary civic purpose of helping to preserve the citizen militia. The civic purpose was also a political expedient for the Federalists in the First Congress as it served, in part, to placate their Antifederalist opponents. The individual right facilitated militia service by ensuring that citizens would not be barred from keeping the arms they would need when called forth for militia duty. Despite the importance of the Second Amendment's civic purpose, however, the activities it protects are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia.

Check out the Instapundit roundup. This is monumental, and the implications for gun rights will be far reaching.

My hacks this week are the people who decided on the "Definitive 200" list of albums for the rock and roll hall of fame. The top ten, twenty isn't so bad, but the list is too heavily weighted with things from 1997 on, which haven't stood the test of longer than a decade. It is also very rap/hip-hop/urban heavy, which I don't think is appropriate for a list from the Rock 'n' Roll hall of fame. But they haven't inducted Rush yet, so what do they know.

Labels: Gun Rights, Hero/Hack, Music

Posted by Ryan S. on Friday, March 09, 2007 at 3:31 PM | Permalink |