Funny. Alabama is a"may issue" state. In the area of open carry, more than a few sheriffs have used the threat of pulling somenes CCL as a way of preventing them from open carrying "in their county". And while much in Alabama law points to the idea that such an action won't hold water in court, as a result of this incorporation, a sheriff may no longer decide that you are an "improper person". They absolutely must prove it, it's called due process. Today we got yet another tool to use in our efforts against arbitrary government.
Frankly, I don't think for a moment that incorporation of the BOR agains the states is a sign the federal government is "taking over". If they are taking over, it is because the states, and most particularly the voters are not doing thier job. As well, there is quite a bit of reference in the writings of the founders that lead one to believe that the idea of the BOR being the law of land, and holdable against the sates was the state of things.
As to "votin with your feet"; many can't. Are you suggesting that Mr McDonald should have taken his family and left his home? What of his family that may not have been able to move? And how many times have you left a city or state because you felt your rights were being abused by the powers that be.
As you say, not trying to be contentious or argumentative, but the reality is the legal landscape defining the relationship between the states and the federal government was fundamentally altered as a result of the issue of slavery, how it infringed on the privledges and immunities of citizenship, not to mention the aftermath of the war. If you haven't yet, read the opinions, there is a great deal of this very history spoken to there. Oh yes, and don't forget, there were a good number of laws that forbade whites from speaking freely against slavery as well, so it has not just been the issue of right to arms the states violated or continue to attempt to violate.
Is the federal government too big for it's britches? You betcha! But in any reasonable sense of what government is, one purpose must be to uphold and protect the rights and freedom of the citizens. It is exactly that the incorporation of the 2nd against state and local governments today does. I wonder how many gun owners in other nations wish they had a government so protective of their rights....
