The MUST ISSUE Clause

Last night, I read some Heller Decision, and the thing that popped out at me, and that really sank in, was that Justice Scalia said this:

"Assuming he is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home."

I had been concerned, in fact worried, about the Supreme Court saying the right to keep and bear arms was subject to licensing regulations. Now I am not all that worried. Sure states, and localities, apparently can and will require licensing. Many like my home state likely will continue to try to make the licensing process difficult; but I am thrilled that it now seems the states will by law have to fall under the 'must issue' provision of the court's decision. Those two words, MUST ISSUE, are big indeed. They are not the words: 'May Issue' which imply it is up to the licensing venue to decide if they will issue or not. They are not the words 'Shall Issue' which imply it is a thing of the future. No they are not either set of words that were used by so many states before the decision. The court has made it plain and simple - there is no way around it - it is now Constitutional law - now a right of each person (and always has been) - that if a license is required by a government, and if the person is not disqualified from exercising his or her Second Amendment rights - the government MUST ISSUE the license. Of course the states will argue that the decision only applies to the District of Columbia; but that will be fought against and defeated, in the courts in short order if it goes that far.

Besides the fact that the Supreme Court decided the right to keep and bear arms is a right of each individual, in other words that they confirmed the term "...the people..." in the Second Amendment means each person as opposed to the government, the two words 'Must Issue' are the biggest news in the case. I believe that the section of the decision in which those words are seen will become known as the Must Issue Clause, or the Must Issue Decision. Those two words and the context in which they were used are a virtual powder keg that put power back into the hands of We The People.

My thanks to the Justices; but most of all my thanks to Mr. Heller for going through with this!

All the best,
Glenn B