Amendment 2 - Right To Bear Arms : A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The Supreme Court overturned a virtual total ban on hand guns and any other arms in the District of Columbia. The law that was stricken out held that the Second Amendment was meant to give militias (that is, the US Military and other government para-military entities like local police) the right to bear arms, not to individuals in and of themselves.

Yet in a 5-4 decision led by Antonin Scalia, the court argued that the law infringed on individuals rights to bear arms, not necessarily on localities rights to impose restrictions on the handling of said arms. SCOTUSBlog has a great recap and analysis of the decision [PDF document] :

In District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290), the Court nullified two provisions of the city of Washington's strict 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one's home, and a requirement that any gun -- except one kept at a business -- must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The Court said it was not passing on a part of the law requiring that guns be licensed. It said that issuing a license to a handgun owner, so the weapon can be used at home, would be a sufficient remedy for the Second Amendment violation of denying any access to a handgun.

While the declaration of the individual right was clear-cut, as was the decision's nullification of key parts of the Washington, D.C., law, the Court did not lay down a standard for judging the constitutionality of any other federal laws -- an omission that the dissenters attacked strongly. Even so, the opinion made it clear that, whatever ultimate test emerge, it probably would be a tough one to meet, at least when self-defense is at issue. As Justice Scalia put it, whatever remains for "future evaluation" about the strength of the right, "it surely elevates above all other interests the right of law-abiding responsible citizens to use arms in defense of hearth and home."

Right wing commentators are already branding this decision the "Roe v. Wade of Gun Rights". And just as many people suspected, the National Rifle Association has not wasted time in putting money behind court challenges to local gun bans in cities like San Francisco, Chicago. They are considering New York City next.

Believe it or not, I think this ruling is good if only because it upholds the US Constitution as a document upholding the rights of individuals, not just government bodies.

As a rabid supporter of a woman's right to not be treated as chattel, property or a slave for the sole purpose of a man's reproductive needs, I believe that DC v. Heller is in a way going to reinforce the rights of Woman as an Individual and a Citizen.

Yet as much as I identify with Libertarian causes, I am first and foremost a social libertarian, someone who believe that government is indeed needed to protect and enhance the rights of individuals. So as much as I believe in the constitutionality of an individual's right to bear a gun, I also believe municipalities and states have the right to set under which circumstances people can bear those arms --as long as they don't infringe on an individual's right to have a gun at home for protection. I also believe that this interpretation is only restricted to gun, not semi- or automatic weapons like AK-47s or any other kind of machine gun.

So, as much as I hate the NRA for their loathsome lobbying practices, I do believe this ruling was necessary.

While most people seem to mellow with age, George Carlin, the iconic stand-up comedian who died Sunday of heart failure, grew ever harsher. By the age of 71, Carlin had perfected his routine as a foul-mouthed curmudgeon, a life-long persona that grew more cantankerous with each passing year.

Born in 1937 and raised on West 121st Street in New York City, near Columbia University, Carlin fell more or less ass-backwards into comedy. He joined the Air Force, moved to Texas, and was soon discharged for being "unproductive." He started working on comedy routines as a radio host with Jack Burns, moved to California, and before long was a regular on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

In the spirit of Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor, Carlin began taking shots at politics, pointing out hypocrisies, and doing it with a healthy dose of four-letter words. Nothing was off-limits, and no word was too baudy for the gravel-voiced, long-haired Carlin. He was a 1970s embodiment of Henry David Thoraeu's theory of "civil disobedience" -- the active refusal to abide by certain laws in order to register dissent with the political status quo, but without resorting to physical violence.

The young Carlin first appeared on television in a suit and tie, with neatly coiffed hair and a fresh smile that almost obscured the mischievous, sometimes maniacal look in his eyes, and those eyebrows that never seemed to stop bouncing around above them. By the mid-1970s, though, Carlin had shed the tie, grown the hair, and begun his comic revolution.

Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, Carlin alternated between making a point about something and just making dirty words funny time and again. But one thing that never changed was his impeccable comedic timing, and the fact that Carlin's humor was instrumental in the radical change that has occurred in this country over the past four decades.

And what better time than now to revisit one of those early Carlin routines, in which the late comedian makes a pretty strong case for why he might, in fact, still be alive:

[Image: Mister Scratch]

Last Saturday, along Prospect Park West in Park Slope, Brooklyn, a modest celebration was taking place that you probably didn't even know was happening. I didn't know myself, even as I ran under an archway made of multi-colored balloons, past the stage where a very convincing transvestite was testing the mic, and on into the park for my daily run.

I soon figured out that I was immersed in Brooklyn Pride, a smaller, more intimate version of the circus that dominates Fifth Avenue in Manhattan every June for the annual Gay Pride Parade. I don't mean to bash that event, of course, which will be on Sunday, June 22nd, but merely to point out that pride can take many forms. Sometimes celebrating who you are doesn't have to be an explosive affair on an epic, Manhattan-worthy scale.

The Gay Pride Parade is fun to watch, but I always think of a New Yorker cartoon I saw years ago: a middle-aged gay couple are sitting on their sofa, one is lying down and the other is on the phone. The caption reads: "No, we're not doing anything for Gay Pride this year. We're here, we're queer, we're used to it."

The Brooklyn Pride event, on the other hand, from what I saw, just looked like a fun day in the park. There were a few people soliciting money for gay rights causes, such as one gentleman I met from the Human Rights Campaign (full disclosure: I did not give him any money because I had nothing on me but a pair of running shoes, shorts, and a key to my apartment), but fundraising didn't seem to be the focus.

Everything about the event was very Brooklyn: diverse, polite, and full of spirit. And it made me proud, too, just to call Brooklyn home.

There is a standoff in Pakistan that has been brewing for years over the principle of Law versus the caprice of military rule. The AFP is reporting that around 20,000 Pakistani political activists and lawyers are presently making their way to a scheduled protest, a sit-in, outside the parliament building in Islamabad. The so-called "Long March," which over the past few days has traversed miles, is calling for the reinstatement of judges dismissed by President Pervez Musharraf during the past year. Most prominent among those attending the rally is the well-respected Pakistan Chief Justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, whose ouster by Musharraf last year led to protest marches around the country and the boycotting of the court system. It was a pivotal moment in Pakistani history.

Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry has been a particular thorn in Musharraf's side in representing the rule of law. Previously Musharraf was head of both the army and the government, which consolidated his power but was considered unconstitutional, thus putting him at odds with the Chief Justice. Chaudhry, who considers himself a patriot governed by the Pakistani constitution, found himself outside of the orbit of Musharraf's influence.

Their differing views on the limits of Presidential power set the two on an eventual collision course. Musharraf, fearing that Chaudhry would force him to choose between being head of the military and being head of state, had Chaudhry dismissed as head of the Court and, with the backing of the army, placed him under house arrest. It was an ill-advised maneuver that backfired. Behind the scenes Chaudhry contacted the media, exhorting the public to stand up for the rule of law which bends for no individual's whimsy. And surprising everyone, the Pakistani public expressed furor and Musharraf backtracked, freeing Chaudhry. The mysterious assasination of Benazir Bhutto has only increased the boldness of Chaudhry and the public in questioning the legitimacy of Musharraf's grasp of power in Pakistan.

This present standoff is particularly sensitive because Pakistan, a principal US ally in the War on Terror, is a nuclear power. That is one of the primary reasons that the United States is tentatively backing Musharraf, who promises stability for the nuclear nation (as well as support against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan), as opposed to backing the side of the principle of Law, whose ascension into power could potentially be messy on a nuclear scale.

[Image: Reuters]

"Set against the vibrant backdrop of Tel Aviv's hippest neighborhood, this smart comedy/drama follows the lives and loves of three twentysomething Israelis: earnest Noam (Ohad Knoller), acerbic Yali (Alon Friedmann) and headstrong Lulu (Daniella Wircer). When Noam meets and falls in love with a Palestinian man named Ashraf (Yousef "Joe" Sweid), the three roommates join forces to help Ashraf stay in Tel Aviv, despite his lack of papers. But even as the lovers grow closer, the political and social realities of the Middle East threaten to burst their utopian bubble."

On the AWEARNESS blog, Liza Sabater recently wrote about same-sex marriage in California and Kenneth Cole model Theo Kogan shared her thoughts on a gay teen murder that generated a considerable outpouring of emotion across the country.

[image: The Bubble]