« NRA on a roll in Florida | Main | New York City cooking crime books? »
Law prof's caution on Alito
A pro-Second Amendment law prof emailed me:
Don't bet the farm.
Jodge Alito would give Congress the green light, under the commerce clause to regulate - BAN - firearms "if Congress as a whole or even one of the responsible congressional committees had made a finding that intrastate machine gun possession, by facilitating the commission of certain crimes, has a substantial effect on interstate
commerce."
There has never been any requirement that Congress make "findings" that are true or even supported by evidence. And no court will second-guess Congress on the issue of "substantial[ness]" of the effect.
This is a GIANT loophole in the record of a Judge from anti-gun New Jersey who has never spoken directly on the issue of firearms or the Second Amendment.
His record provides no positive basis to suppose he's pro-Second Amendment. He might be, he might not.
It will be interesting to see which Senator, and in what way, questions Alito on the Rybar case. You know Schumer and Feinstein will not let an anti-2A argument pass, and they have to be salivating over questioning a Republican judge about a pro-machine gun decision.
I saw VPC put out a primer on Alito today, accessible via www.vpc.org/alito.pdf. The usual selective quoting, but I bet every Dem Judiciary Cmte staffer now has a copy.