"Screw you guys - I'm goin' home!"
This is the line - originally uttered by "South Park" character Eric Cartman - that comes to mind when describing the response of several dozen Montana politicians - including Montana Secretary of State Brad Johnson - to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the most recent court case dealing with the Second Amendment.
The cause of the Montana politicians' hissy fit, D.C. v. Heller, was ruled on Thursday. According to CNN.com, the case questioned whether or not a sweeping ban on handguns within the limits of Washington, D.C., violated the Second Amendment, which grants all Americans the right to bear arms.
According to an article in the June 2008 edition of Reason Magazine, days prior to the D.C. v. Heller case being heard by the court, Montana politicians presented a joint resolution pointing out that when the federal government approved Montana's state constitution, it included a clause which grants "any person" the right to bear arms. The federal government recognized that clause as consistent in meaning with the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The joint resolution suggested that if the Supreme Court came down on what Montana representatives viewed as the "wrong side" of D.C. v. Heller, Montana might secede from the United States.