The United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the federal ban on gun possession by undocumented immigrants yesterday, against a claim that the ban violates the Second Amendment. Significantly, however, the court did not adopt a dangerous legal argument embraced by the Fifth and Eighth Circuits which could also strip undocumented persons of their Fourth Amendment right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures. Prior to yesterday’s opinion, the Fifth Circuit’s potential assault on immigrants’ right to be secure in their homes and free from unlawful arrests appeared to be gaining steam. The Tenth Circuit’s opinion presents an alternative way to uphold the ban on gun possession without harming essential protections against lawless arrests or illegal searches. [HT: Eugene Volokh]
Add to del.icio.us
Digg this
Post to Furl
Add to reddit
Add to myYahoo!
Powered by blogdig.net