Nightly Nuance - June 7, 2021

Hello, my friends. First, thanks in advance for your patience with my cold. This business of getting sick is for the birds.

Today, I’m talking about a federal judge’s decision to strike down California’s ban on assault weapons. My friend, Eric, who talked with me about guns and the Second Amendment on the podcast a while back, sent me a “Freedom!” gif from Braveheart, and he’d be very pleased with the Court’s analysis in this case. It’s kind of an unusual opinion -- almost like this judge has been sitting on big feelings about the gun regulation discussion for a long time and is letting it all out now.

His main points are:

“Assault weapons” as a term doesn’t really mean anything. AR-15s and similar weapons are just modern rifles, and they’re really useful for both home protection and in warfare. The Second Amendment protects all guns that are commonly used for lawful purposes. People really, really like these guns. The Bill of Rights makes a policy choice: that guns in the hands of citizens are better than guns in the hands of people breaking the law. California’s legislature isn’t free to make a contrary policy choice.

I also think embedded in his opinion are 2 points that are the subject of just intractable discussion between my friends who are gun enthusiasts and me, both concerning human nature.

The comments to last week’s Nightly Nuance on gun ownership and freedom were so thoughtful and encouraging to read. Thank you for being a community that takes deliberations among citizens so seriously. (And I promise that my goal for next week is to have zero gun discussions).

Have the best available Monday. -b

Get bonus content on Patreon

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.