The Second Amendment

"The Second Amendment" by Michael Waldman was first published in 2014. In 2023, it's dated. It's not just dated, it's really dated. A lot has gone on since 2014 - today's majority Supreme Court justices are in the process of flipping our Constitution.

Be that as it may, it's one of the best books I've ever read about our Constitution, the process used by the men who wrote and ratified it, and understanding what it truly is - words on paper, interpreted by political appointees.

Something has clearly changed in the last 9 years. Waldman does an excellent job of introducing us to "originalism" and explaining how it was used to make gun ownership a "fundamental right".

In explaining the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in the District of Columbia v. Heller, Waldman shines the light on Antonin Scalia. Scalia wrote the majority opinion.

Heller was decided by a 5-4 vote. The case was about whether or not the District of Columbia's Code in regard to gun ownership was Constitutional.

The court ruled it wasn't. In doing so, the court reversed 200 years of established law on the matter. In doing so, the court opened the door to what has been going on at the Supreme Court ever since. In doing so, the court transformed our Constitution from a living, evolving document to a dead artifact of our political past.

I never liked Scalia. I thought he was vastly overrated and full of himself. I never saw him as a great intellect.

In death, Conservatives have canonized Scalia. He's now the poster child for how Supreme Court Justices should interpret our Constitution.

Waldman might just as well have called this book "The Consequences Of Normalizing Originalism" and used the 2nd Amendment to emphasize his position.

My take on our current court is that it's highly politicized and rendering decisions to advance a right wing, Libertarian agenda.

For those readers who just want to understand the 2nd Amendment and how it's interpretation has changed and why, this book should be your first choice.

Holy Moly!