I was ready to quote Justice Scalia liberally.
During tonight’s floor debate, one of my colleagues said, “The rights protected by the 2nd Amendment are inalienable. They can’t be restricted by the governor, the legislature, or the courts.”
Justice Scalia ruled otherwise in the majority opinion in Heller v. District of Columbia.
“Like most rights,” he wrote, “the right secured by the Second Amendment is not unlimited.”
“Should I respond?” I asked my seatmate, Delegate McIntosh.
“Wait til tomorrow when the final vote on the bill will be taken,” she advised.
I agreed.
—
I wrote too soon.
Shortly after I posted the above, one of my colleagues said that our Second Amendment right came from God and is unalienable.
I had to speak.
“None of the protections in the Bill of Rights is absolute. The first Amendment says that ‘Congress shall make no law’ but there are limitations on the rights of free speech and a free press.”
And I did quote Justice Scalia.
