Crime & Federalism

I was going to blog about a recent standing case from the D.C. Circuit, Seegars v. Ashcroft.  Fortunately, abler hands have taken the task.  Robert A. Levy has this article in The American Spectator.  It ledes:

Imagine that your local government makes it a crime to engage in an activity that you believe to be constitutionally protected -- like possessing a handgun in your home for self-defense. Imagine further that the weight of legal scholarship, from liberals and conservatives alike, holds that the Second Amendment secures an individual right to keep and bear arms. Too bad if you live in Washington, D.C., where you may be faced with a Hobson's choice. You can forego possessing a gun for self-defense, and perhaps suffer personal injury. Or you can defy the law, illegally own a gun, use it to defend yourself, then risk arrest, prosecution, fine, or even incarceration when D.C. authorities investigate your "crime."

Please read the full column here.