Out of control court
When the law means nothing to the Supreme Court, lawlessness ensues:
The state Constitution is a wonderful document, much of which is older than the U.S. Constitution and in many ways superior to the federal one about protecting individual rights and limiting the power of the politicians running state government.
However, the state Supreme Court had been using a small scalpel to judiciously trim this right and that until the current court decided that a chainsaw is better.
“Nationwide, I don’t know any court that has twisted the law like this,” says Bruce Ledewitz, a Duquesne University law professor and constitutional law expert. It’s far worse than the others because this court brazenly bends the law like an obsessive/compulsive contortionist starring in a Mummenschanz stage show.
To wit:
The state Constitution explicitly says, “The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.” It’s much better than the Second Amendment. But since the court ignores the text in its rulings in gun cases, it can and has allowed the government to establish rules about gun ownership, Ledewitz says.
And by essentially ignoring the reason for the tax-uniformity clause in the state Constitution (to end favors for special interests), the court says it’s OK to play favorites.
November 21st, 2006 at 10:41 am
They aren’t kidding. Our Supreme Court sucks, and it’s not just constitutional issues. May I point to you this section of the UFA (Uniform Firearms Act):
Notwithstanding any section of this chapter to the contrary, nothing in this chapter shall be construed to allow any government or law enforcement agency or any agent thereof to create, maintain or operate any registry of firearm ownership within this Commonwealth. For the purposes of this section only, the term “firearm” shall include any weapon that is designed to or may readily be converted to expel any projectile by the action of an explosive or the frame or receiver of any such weapon.
Yet, this has been interpreted to let the state police keep a database of every gun sale in Pennsylvania, creeating a defacto registry. The state police can tell you exactly how many firearms I own. But it’s not a firearms registry, it’s a registry of sale, according to our illustrious state Supreme Court. Boneheads.