|
|
|
|
| |
 |
| |
The significance of the Supreme Court's final decisions as it completed its term last week are hard to overstate. On one hand, its ruling banning the death penalty for child rape was a major victory; for all the human emotions involved -- and the overheated political rhetoric -- it is a decision that must be understood as a critical curb on the expansion of crimes punishable by execution in this country. Immediately after, however, the Court handed down its historical ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller. In a 5-4 decision written by Justice Atonin Scalia, the Court ruled that Americans have a constitutional individual right to have a gun. One legal critic called it "a dismaying performance by the Supreme Court," but many Americans just find it downright scary (especially in a culture where a person can be cleared of any wrongdoing -- even called a "hero" -- for shooting two men caught trying to break into a neighbor's home in the back). Perhaps one of the most frightening things about the Heller decision is not just that it provides a mandate for states to allow people to own guns, so much as that gun owners may now consider themselves more empowered to use them. Check out AlterNet's Rights & Liberties section for additional coverage on guns, Gitmo, and more. Thanks for reading. Liliana Segura Editor, Rights & Liberties Special Coverage |
|
| |
PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Back to newsletter list
