On the Chicago suit regarding the Chicago Second Amendment Case.

Guest post by Dan Itse (NH House of Representatives)

First, the purpose of the 14th Amendment was to ensure that all citizens of a State were treated equally before the Law.

Second, you don’t have to go to the Second Amendment to see the right of self defense protected. This reliance on the Federal Constitution is dangerous as it relies on a distant government for protection.

The privileges and immunities clause Article IV, Section 2 along with the Constitutions of the States (which are far more protective of our rights) establishes all you need. The privileges and immunities clause defines that every State a member of the United States recognizes the rights enumerated in each State. Since Pennsylvania has the explicit enumeration of the individual right to keep and bear arms and Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Virginia have the implicit individual right to keep and bear arms in their recognition of the right to defend life and liberty and protect property, the individual right to keep and bear arms has been absolute since before June 21, 1788, before the ratification of the Bill of Rights and long before the 14th amendment (1865).

The Articles of Confederation also include this concept.  Article IV has the same clause of privileges and immunities of each State being recognized by every State. Therefore, the recognition of the individual right to keep and bear arms of member States has been recognized since 1781.

Basically, in regard to the member States of the United States, the Second Amendment is at its least irrelevant or maybe at its strongest, redundant.

Does it is recognition under the incorporation doctrine (progressive doctrine of centralization) weaken the Tenth Amendment? Only psychologically since the Constitution for the United States already required the recognition of the individual right to keep and bear arms by the States. The danger is that it makes us less aware of our rights recognized by the States.

The concept incorporation of the Second Amendment via the Fourteenth Amendment can not ultimately damage the Tenth Amendment.  The only thing that can damage the Tenth Amendment is the failure to enforce it.