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The 2nd Amendment in the 8th Circuit
By Scott F. Pearce, Esq. | August 16, 2008
Justice Scalia’s highly controvercial majority opinion in District of Columbia v. Heller was prominent in a recent decision of the 8th Circuit, called US v. Fincher.
Hollis Wayne Fincher, the defendant in the 8th Circuit case, had been convicted of being wrongfully in possession of a machine gun and a sawed-off shotgun. Mr. Fincher argued that, since he was a member of a citizen’s militia, he should have been allowed to argue the Second Amendment to the jury.
The 8th Circuit upheld Mr. Fincher’s convictions. This shows that Justice Scalia’s decision was not the death knell for sensible gun control in the United States. Scalia wrote that blanket handgun bans violate the Second Amendment. There’s a strong consensus that private citizens should not be allowed to possess military weapons.
Topics: 2nd Amendment |