Does Bruen Herald the End of Constitutional Strict-Scrutiny Amendments? From an article at the Duke Center for Firearms Law, Andrew Willinger wrote the following:
This November, voters in Iowa will weigh in on a proposed state constitutional amendment that would make all gun regulations subject to strict scrutiny. The full text of the proposed amendment, which was approved by the state legislature in early 2021, is as follows (emphasis added):
The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The sovereign state of Iowa affirms and recognizes this right to be a fundamental individual right. Any and all restrictions of this right shall be subject to strict scrutiny.
Iowa’s Freedom Amendment contains “strict scrutiny” language which is the 3rd and final sentence of the amendment. Simply put, it is the highest level of judicial review. In layman’s terms, a judge or judges should have a compelling reason to tinker with the law or case they’re reviewing. Interestingly, Bruen, moves past scrutiny tiers and solidifies the original context:
This issue is, in many ways, the primary point of contention between the majority and the dissent in Bruen: do tiers of scrutiny create a situation where courts too often “defer to the determinations of legislatures,” and does a history-focused test actually constrain such judicial deference? Bruen entirely repudiates tiers of scrutiny in the Second Amendment context. If one believes that Bruen’s historical-analogue test is more constraining and faithful to the original meaning of the Second Amendment, then it would be odd to simultaneously advocate for the type of strict-scrutiny amendment currently on the table in Iowa. It seems likely that those who supported strict-scrutiny constitutional amendments at the state level in past years will now turn their attention to attempting to harmonize the interpretation of state constitutional provisions with the interpretation of the federal Second Amendment.[2] This also makes sense as a practical matter: once the federal constitutional right reaches a high level of protection, there’s no longer much to do at the state level—it only really matters that the right is protected by one of the two provisions.
If Bruen’s test is indeed on par with, or tougher than, strict scrutiny, we can expect this fact to halt the recent spurt of strict-scrutiny constitutional amendments at the state level. Instead, we’re likely to see a broader shift where state courts increasingly use the Bruen test to evaluate challenges under state constitutional analogues to the Second Amendment, even in states without a strict rule that such analogous provisions are construed in tandem.
I found this article, IFC Board Member and Chief Lobbyist, Richard Rogers, sent me both helpful and insightful. Here’s the context for all of us in Iowa. Strict Scrutiny, which we all agree should be applied to ALL questions of your basic human and civil rights, will be intact for your protection in Iowa. Whether future SCOTUS cases strengthen or diminish this will be realized in the future. But Iowa can have protection placed in its State Constitution.
Yes, there are gun grabbers, liberty haters, and the dangerous members of society out there that seek to thwart this virtuous endeavor. But what everyone should be asking themselves is pretty simple. Is there ANY human right or basic civil right that DOESN’T deserve strict scrutiny when discussing their restriction or curtailment?
In Libertatem,
Michael Ware – IFC Board
Dear IFC,
I hope I am wrong about the future. However, when the Dems win big this Nov. 2022, they will stack the Supreme Court and then re-interpret the U.S. Constitution. We will no longer have the 1st Amendment (freedom of speech, religion), the 2nd Amendment, the 4th Amendment, the 5th Amendment (I think: these last two are search warrant and trial by jury). We are now in the age of the one world order. The government no longer works for the people, we work for them. They may give us the appearance of voting, but they will decide the out come of each election. The parties are merging now as we speak.
I really hope that I am wrong in my forecast, but if you read “1984” or “Animal Farm” by George Orwell you can see it shaping up in our country and the world. The world will be run by the elites which was vaguely alluded to on the Georgia Guide Stones, which have now been removed from a county in Georgia.
“Firearms stand next in importance to the Constitution itself. They are the American people’s Liberty teeth and keystone under independence…”
“From the hour the Pilgrims landed, to the present day, events, occurrences and tendencies prove that to ensure peace, security and happiness, the rifle and the pistol are equally indispensable…”
“The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference. They deserve a place of honor with all that’s good…”
——-George Washington…
8-30-22. Today…Every Link in the firearms industry chain is under attack! The manufacturer who produces the product, the shipper who transports the product, the credit card company who processes the transaction, the advertising agency who produces advertisements AND YOU. That’s right friend, you are under surveillance and attack, it happens every day.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution tells us that all of this cannot happen…but it does!
2A4IA is on the Ballot (the back side) in the November election. You have NO CHOICE but to go and VOTE YES to pass the Freedom Amendment to the Iowa Constitution. If you don’t do this…..have your firearms at the ready for the collectors who will be at your door sooner than we all think!
This is in your hands now…VOTE like your life depended on it, because IT DOES!
Thanks for that insightful comment, Ken. You are absolutely correct that the attack on our fundamental rights is multi-pronged and multi-directional, coming from many different institutions and agencies – governmental, cultural, and business. And it is RELENTLESS, so we must remain ever vigilant.
Adoption of the Freedom Amendment will add strong protections of our right to keep and bear arms to Iowa’s Constitution for the first time. As long as we the people can maintain honest legislators and judges here in Iowa, the Freedom Amendment will make it very difficult for the enemies of freedom to undo the substantial gains we have made over the last dozen years.
I agree, please do, and go vote for the FREEDOM Amendment. We got to continue, putting our best foot forward, in support of our Bill of Rights.