Reference no: EM133817105

Discussion: The Role of Courts in Broader Political and Social Issues

This discussion forum focuses on how the Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), discussed in chapter 2 of The Politics of Gun Control, contributes to the public policy debate over gun rights and gun control. Although the Heller decision is summarized in the Spitzer book, I encourage you to research the case in greater detail. Justice Scalia's opinion of the court and Justice Stevens' dissent in this 5-4 decision each examines the history of gun rights and the Second Amendment and come to very different conclusions about how it all should be interpreted. Justice Breyer's dissenting opinion in the Heller case also raising a number of interesting points in rebuttal to Scalia's opinion of the court.

To better understand the issues raised in Heller you should listen to portions (and more if you want) of the oral argument held in the Supreme Court. Pay attention first to Walter Dellinger's argument that opens the session on behalf of the District of Columbia in support of the challenged gun regulation. Later, Alan Gura presents the case on behalf of Heller who is challenging the constitutionality of the regulation. At one point Justice Breyer poses a question to Gura about whether the District of Columbia had a reasonable public policy concern when the legislation was first introduced in 1975. Their exchange is useful for understanding some of the public policy issues involved in the Heller case.

Your comments should not simply be your own personal views on gun rights and gun control, nor should they only be a summary of the Heller case. While it's appropriate to provide a brief summary of the case itself your comments should focus on how the case relates to themes found in the assigned reading from the Spitzer book and should draw on the issues raised by Dellinger and Gura, exchanges with the justices in the oral argument.