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She saved baseball and she believes in collective bargaining. Sotomayor was the federal judge who issued an injunction against the owners of MLB, forcing them to negotiate in good faith and ended the 200+ day lockout of the MLB Players Assn. union in 1995. The lockout forced the cancellation of the 1994 World Series and caused a huge drop in fan support for the game, support that only returned after the Sosa/McGuire home run chase in 1998.
Sotomayor’s quick action allowed MLB to avoid the awful potential of starting the 1995 season with scab players masquerading as professionals–something the owners were prepared to do.
So, the judge claims that she went from not being a real baseball fan before her ruling to a die hard Yankee fan now–she can’t be perfect, but she’s close.
The Supreme Court ruling in the case of D.C. v. Heller is likely to be the final victory of the George W. Bush administration over common sense and justice. They were unsuccessful in overturning Roe v. Wade for the anti-abortionists, but they knocked over U.S. v. Miller for the gun
nuts.
Justice Antonin Scalia carved out a constitutional right for individuals to own handguns in their own homes, to be used for self-defense. He also tossed out the laws that require the use of trigger locks or disassembly of legally owned guns, as these provisions make it nearly impossible to use guns for self-defense. The 5-4 decision was supported by Reagan appointee Anthony Kennedy, Bush 1 appointees Scalia and Clarence Thomas and Bush 2 appointees John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
Now, what was settled law since 1939 has been tossed out the window, ushering in years of court battles in cities and states across the country to decide the scope of the ruling in D.C. v. Heller. The National Rifle Association and other pro-death groups have already vowed to bring scores of lawsuits across the country.
The first battle will be how this applies to states and localities with anti-gun laws. D.C. v. Heller only applies to the federal government and D.C.
It could have been worse. Scalia didn’t totally ignore the fact that “well-regulated” is part of the language of the Second Amendment and specifically stated:
“Nothing in our opinion,” he said, “should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”
One facet of the ruling troubles me more than any other–Scalia’s dumping of trigger lock laws. According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, 55% of all handgun deaths are suicides and 5% of handgun deaths are accidental. It’s obvious that keeping guns away from kids and potential suicide victims is an effective way to reduce the carnage of gun fatalities.
