Delete comment from: The War on Guns
David,
Just because one appeals to it as a restraint does not mean that it is binding. One can say, "Help, help! Imprisonment is cruel and unusual punishment." Constitutionally speaking, "Cruel and unusual punishment" means "a punishment not prescribed by law." If a judge doesn't care about the strict meaning of particular terms of art, or the purpose and construction of the Constitution, he may very well say, "Yes, your intra-state liberties are protected by the Federal Constitution." And still be dead wrong.
An appeal is as binding as the blackrobes who wish pretend to accept it as any sort of legal substance. The fact remains that Constitutionally speaking, the States could and did pass any manner of regulation concerning such issues, notwithstanding the opinion of particular judges and contemporaneous personages.
Dec 2, 2011, 12:31:55 AM
Posted to Christie Blows Any Chance for National Political Ambitions