Posted on by Californiacontrarian

A Clash ?

For the most part I do not write about topics on which I do not know much about or topics in which I have little interest. This is in spite of me multiple times saying, “Here’s my opinion on something about which I know very little.” Two topics which fall into this category include global warming (which I do not think is man made), and the second amendment (as I do not own a gun). However I came across a very interesting case which will soon be heard in the Second Court of Appeals.

I found this case interesting because it included two topics that intersected with each other, namely illegal immigration and the right to possess a firearm. 

Here is a short version of the case from “Bearing Arms:”

Back in the summer of 2016, Jose Perez was walking in Brooklyn when he saw a gang beating up on a single individual with machetes. As Mr. Perez happened to have a gun in his hand, he fired shots into the air, and scared off the attackers. He then returned the gun to its owner.

Months later, Perez was arrested and charged with a federal crime — being an “alien in possession of a firearm.” He faced 10 years in federal prison and deportation.

His lawyers argued the federal law is unconstitutional because it strips people like Perez — millions of undocumented people with no prior criminal record — of Second Amendment rights. The government shot back that the amendment doesn’t apply to Perez because of his unlawful status in the country, and even if it did, the law is reasonable in achieving a government’s interest in controlling crime.

From my perspective there are two interesting facets to this story.

First: Mr. Perez actually used the gun for something good. Does this count for anything?

Second: Do non citizens have the same rights as citizens?

Perez’s attorneys are arguing that when Justice Antonin Scalia (the Heller decision) referred to individuals in general and not just American citizens when he said people had the right to keep and bear arms.(The problem is that Scalia said “citizens,” and not just individuals in general.)

After failing in the lower courts, the case now has the potential of ending in the U.S. Supreme Court, where it could have far-reaching implications for immigrant rights beyond gun possession, legal experts say.

10/10/21

www.californiacontrarian.com

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