‘Violates the Second Amendment’: Justice Thomas Lone Dissenter in Gun Case

Justice Clarence Thomas on June 21 dissented in a major gun case, saying that a law that prohibits certain people from owning firearms violates the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. The eight other justices sided with the government. The law, 18 U. S. C. §922(g)(8), bars people who are subject to restraining orders against a partner, ex-partner, or the child of either from owning or possessing guns. The law “violates the Second Amendment,” Justice Thomas wrote in his dissent. “First, it targets conduct at the core of the Second Amendment— possessing firearms. Second, the Government failed to produce any evidence that §922(g)(8) is consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. To the contrary, the founding generation addressed the same societal problem as §922(g)(8) through the ‘materially different means’ of surety laws.”...