Who will replace Alberto Gonzales as U.S. Attorney General?
A gaggle of names has emerged, and just about all the list-makers include Senior Circuit Judge Laurence H. Silberman. Judge Silberman has sat on the D.C. Circuit since Ronald Reagan appointed him in 1985. He also has tons of other government experience. So Blawgletter thought that we might mention something His Honor wrote back in March 2007.
The passage comes in his 2-1 majority opinion striking down the District of Columbia’s restrictions on handguns. He first quotes from Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, 350 (1857) (emphasis his):
Nor can Congress deny to the people the right to keep and bear arms . . . .
Then he comments:
Although Dred Scott is as infamous as it was erroneous in holding that African-Americans are not citizens, this passage expresses the view, albeit in passing, that the Second Amendment contains a personal right [to own guns].
Parker v. District of Columbia, 478 F.3d 370, 391 (D.C. Cir. 2007). Reminds us a little of purse-making and sow’s ears.
Barry Barnett
