Supremes to Hear DC Gun Ban (and) Papal Shooter, to Boot!!

Here we go, folks!

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will decide whether the District of Columbia can ban handguns, a case that could produce the most in-depth examination of the constitutional right to "keep and bear arms" in nearly 70 years.

The main issue before the justices is whether the Second Amendment of the Constitution protects an individual's right to own guns or instead merely sets forth the collective right of states to maintain militias. The former interpretation would permit fewer restrictions on gun ownership.

The current title: The case is District of Columbia v. Heller, formerly known as Parker.

That's nowhere near as interesting as this little blog-item:

In the curriculum [vitae] of Pius XI there is a certificate for being a first-rate shot

In L’Osservatore Romano for 20 November, ... there stands out in the cultural page a bizarre headline: "the librarian with the pistol".

We are not dealing with just any librarian, but with Achille Ratti, who became Pope with the name Pius XI.And the gun?

Here’s the explanation of this oddity. When he was prefect of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, Ratti kept a a revolver close at had "as a deterent to keep off possible miscreants with gunshots in the air, or the like.

"Once promoted to the Vatican Library, he brought his gun with him. And when in 1918 Benedict XV sent him to Poland as an apostolic visitor, he sent to Warsaw via the diplomatic pouch, "a small revolver and ammunition".

This should make the Heller decision simple. 5 Papists, 4 not.

Of course, that's a simplification.

Lots more here, here, and here.

Nothing SCOTUS does will alter Wisconsin's 25th Amendment, however.