Now Playing at Reason.tv: Brian Doherty Responds to D.C. v. Heller

Yesterday, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited opinion in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, recognizing an individual right to possess arms for self-defense. Senior editor Brian Doherty, who's currently writing a book about the case, spoke to reason.tv yesterday about what the decision means for the future of gun rights in America.

Click below to check out the video. And while you're at it, don't miss reason's civil libertarian panel on the decision and Doherty's Los Angeles Times op-ed on the case.

Comments

[Warren]

I'm 80% through Radicals. It's fantastic. It was so ambitious. A huge book to fill a huge void. I'm disappointed to learn his next project will be one log on what is sure to be a massive bon fire.

[Chris]

Doesn't he err here? He says the supreme court ruling means a state-level total ban on guns is off the table, but I thought that with the 14-amendment incorporation issue unresolved, that's not so.

[Chris]

14th-amendment, I meant, of course

[Brian Doherty]

Yes, Chris is correct---incorporation of the Sec. Am on the states or localities was technically left unresolved by Heller. It will be resolved soon (by the suit against Chicago, if nothing else) and the same historical logic and legal logic in this case will, I am 99 percent sure, resolve it in favor of incorporation. In speaking off the cuff and in edited fashion, that wrinkle was left undiscussed in this video clip, but thanks for a chance to clarify.

[Chris]

Brian, Thanks for the clarification. In honesty, I have always been confused about this business of incorporating the specific rights individually. It's good to hear you think it's so likely to be resolved quickly and in favor of incorporation, since I don't really know enough to guess for myself.

[Kevin]

Just one suggestion to make this website better: Could you post more podcasts or mp3 files on your site. I can't listen to any of these videos on my mp3 player. Thanks.