Merry Christmas (to those who celebrate it). Happy [insert appropriate holiday here] to those who don’t. Regardless of which holiday one celebrates, this is a time to cherish the good people and things in life.
In addition to family and friends, I cherish our constitutional rights – especially the 2nd Amendment. Let us not forget that in many other countries, ordinary citizens are denied the right to gun ownership for self defense, with tragic results. Indeed, even in the USA, there are many citizens in cities like Chicago who are denied gun rights, leaving them at the (non-existent) mercy of gun-ban-ignoring criminals.
However there is hope. In just the last couple of years, we’ve seen D.C. v. Heller and other pro gun rights court victories. We’ve also seen many pro gun laws passed at the state and federal levels. Also heartening, polls show that public opinion is turning in favor of gun rights. Perhaps most exciting of all, it seems that that US Supreme Court is (hopefully!) poised to incorporate the 2nd Amendment in the McDonald v. Chicago case. Should this come to pass, state and local governments will be prevented from violating the 2nd Amendment to the federal constitution.