A few days ago, I talked about how a federal court overturned two Tennessee gun control laws. That wasn't entirely earth-shattering, except that Tennessee hadn't removed them already.
Now, a Republican lawmaker is asking the attorney general to appeal the decision.
He's not some anti-gun jihadist who expects the rest of the state to bend to his will, though. Oh no, there's another reason entirely.
State Rep. Chris Todd is pushing for the Tennessee Attorney General to appeal the recent overturnment of two gun laws in the state.
...However, Rep. Todd is pushing for the ruling to be appealed in order for it to be strengthened.
“While some may see an appeal as opposition to the ruling, for me the opposite is true,” Todd said. “This ruling is one of the most thorough, well-reasoned, and well-written opinions I’ve seen. The chancellors’ and the court did an outstanding job analyzing the issues. I believe an appellate court will affirm this decision precisely because of its strength and precision. This would give the outcome even greater weight by making it a binding precedent in Tennessee and serving as a reference point for similar cases nationwide.”
I mean, there are worse suggestions out there.
Todd, of course, is counting on the federal courts to continue along the same belief that these laws were unconstitutional and should be overturned. That's probably what will happen, and if it doesn't, well, then you appeal again.
However, there's a risk here. It seems like a kind of an obvious risk.
After all, what if you try it and lose? There's no promise that the next time will work out the exact same, and there's no promise anyone up the judicial chain is actually going to agree to hear the case. If that happens, then what?
Sure, the state legislature can vote to repeal the laws themselves, but if they haven't already done so, I don't see why we should assume they would now.
In other words, this is a risky gamble. If it pays off, it pays off. That's a win across the board, sure, but if it doesn't, it could scuttle the entire effort, and having the laws declared unconstitutional means that no one can come along later and reinstate the law through legislative means.
I'm not sure the juice is worth the squeeze here. You've already got a win. Is there that much to really gain?
Well, Todd figures it is, because the district court decision isn't as binding as it might be if the appeals court reaches the same conclusion. If that's accurate, then yeah, it's worth the squeeze.
Todd seems to be of the opinion that we can use the courts for more than short-term victories on gun rights. We can ask for appeals to move things up the chain, not to overturn the previous court's decision, but to get a broader ruling with farther-reaching implications. I still say it's a gamble, but it's probably a gamble worth testing with cases like this, that will have minimal impact should they not turn out well.
It's a bold strategy, Cotton. Let's see if it pays off for him.