Robert Woolley wrote:
Please tell me if you think that this is a substantially inaccurate or
misleading or unfair characterization of recent years of history:
"When states have enacted shall-issue permitting schemes, there has
frequently been some sort of immediate legal challenge to the validity of
the entire new statutory structure (for example, NM, MO, MN). Typically,
however, either
the law has been upheld, or the legislature has quickly amended or
re-enacted it, curing any judicially identified defects. To date, no legal
challenge in any state has achieved a lasting, meaningful weakening of the
overall effect of the shall-issue statutes."
I would say that this is accurate depending on your definition of
"quickly amended." The New Mexico
statute required a completely new law to correct the defect introduced
at Albuquerque Mayor Baca's
request.
I *think* it's a fair statement. But after writing it, it struck me what a
remarkable thing that is, if it's true. Hard to imagine so many wildly
different versions of a complex statutory system being enacted in 20 or so
states (I'm excluding the pre-Florida states), with none of them ever being
repealed legislatively or serious weakened or defeated (long-term)
judicially. It's really quite astonishing, especially given the background
of 100 years of progressively shrinking personal liberties in nearly every
other aspect of American life.
I believe that the reason is that the authority of states to regulate
concealed carry has been generally
upheld over the last 50 years. As much as some people might find it
offensive to give this kind of
authority to the legislatures, because the courts generally have upheld
the authority to regulate it
restrictively, there wasn't much of a basis for arguing the legislatures
could not regulate it less
restrictively.
Clayton E. Cramer
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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