In striking down DC gun laws, the Supreme Court today has taken a big step towards privatizing justice on the streets of DC and such other violent cities as Baltimore, Detroit…
For background, the Supreme Court has finally gotten around to a constitutional question that was relevant in the days of citizen militias but has been an anachronism since the early days of industrialization. And in saying, for the first time, that individuals have the right to bear arms, the Court’s 5-4 conservative majority adds yet another notch to the Bush legacy.
The Bush legacy diminishes the value of human life. It also has to do with the neoliberal privatization. Here’s how. It diminishes the claim that governments has a monopoly on the use of coercive force in society; Now gun holders– in private groups, gangs, and militias may compete against the state on its own turf. a winning day for Blackwater and other private militias..
Now, analogize America’s cities to Baghdad, and picture them being patrolled by Blackwater and KBR. Also, picture the dim reality in which families are still sending their sons and daughters, souses and siblings basic protective gear, including bullets. Given the government’s privatization of war and law enforcement and its meager support for our own troops, the court’s decision to enhance the power and legitimacy of nongovernmental militias is cause for alarm.
The Court’s second amendment logic– stretched just a bit– presumes individual troops are responsible for bringing their own tevlar vests, guns, bullets and other resources needed to secure the peace. This is the logic of the Court’s interpretation of the 2nd Amendment: the individual has the right to bring arms to the militia (public or private). The market shall decide the kind ad amount of bullets and the protective layers in vest, tanks and other patrol vehicles.
On the other hand, if the “enemy” has funds it can now purchase and possess the best and highest quality arms; notice how the court just switched the competitive advantage to the other side. Analogize back to the streets of baltimore, DC and Detroit, and you see the practical effects of the Court’s decision. Go Crips. Go Bloods, go MS-13! go BLACKWATER!
Yep, securing the right of potential evil doers to do evil is the Bush way.
