September 30, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC — “Today’s decision by the Supreme Court to hear McDonald v. City of Chicago is about more than guns: it is about whether the Court will restore the precise constitutional text that requires states to honor the fundamental rights of all Americans.  At issue is not only whether the Second Amendment right to bear arms is incorporated against state action through the Fourteenth Amendment, but how. 

The correct answer to this question should be important to all Americans, not just those focused on gun rights.  The parties and Constitutional Accountability Center have asked the Court to revisit an 1873 opinion that effectively wrote the 14th Amendment’s Privileges or Immunities Clause out of the Constitution.  Restoring this explicit protection for substantive liberty would not only secure appropriate Second Amendment rights against infringement by state and local government action, but would also provide a more secure textual foundation for ensuring other fundamental rights.    It is an outcome all Americans should urge and welcome.”

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a think tank, law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history. CAC filed a brief in support of Supreme Court review in McDonald v. City of Chicago on behalf of a diverse group of preeminent constitutional scholars including Jack Balkin of Yale Law School and Randy Barnett of Georgetown University Law Center.

Contact: Debra Greenspan, dgreenspan@gpgdc.com, 202-741-5573