US Supreme Court Should Televise the DC Gun Case

The Supreme Court has announced it will hear the DC gun case. This will be one of the biggest case in the history of the Court, since it will be the second time the Court will hear arguments on the scope of the Second Amendment. In the earlier opinion (1939), the Court did not say if the Second Amendment confers an individual or collective right to own firearms. With such an important case, it is a given that millions would want to be present for oral arguments, but the Court is unable to accommodate those millions. Television can accommodate those millions, and thus the Court should televise the proceedings.

The District brought the case to the Supreme Court after the US Courts of Appeals for DC found that DC handgun ban violates the Second Amendment. Read the Appeals Court opinion here.

Sure, the Court does not allow cameras, but given the share importance of this case, it should make an exception.

The Court might demur by saying it does not want to set a precedent. But, are there still unresolved Bill of Rights issues that are as contentious as the gun issue? There might be, but they would probably arise in another one hundred years, so the court need not worry about setting a precedent.

Brown v. Board of Education was perhaps the most recent case that would have warranted televising.