Court of Appeals Just POISONED the Well on Birthright Citizenship!

Quick Overview

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's judgment, upholding the conviction of Mildor Escobar-Ternal, an illegal alien, for possessing a firearm, thereby concluding that the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not extend to illegal aliens, a conclusion Thapar, J., disagreed with in a concurrence that argued the majority decision poisoned the well regarding birthright citizenship by conflating citizens and non-citizens.

Key Points: The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction of Mildor Escobar-Ternal, an illegal alien, for possessing a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A). The majority concluded that the Second Amendment right to bear arms does not apply to illegal aliens, finding that 'the people' in the Second Amendment refers specifically to citizens who consented to be governed by the United States. Justice Thapar, in concurrence, disagreed with the majority's conclusion that the conviction was consistent with the Second Amendment, arguing the opinion poisoned the well regarding birthright citizenship by conflating citizens and non-citizens. The court examined historical evidence, noting that at the Founding, illegal immigration did not exist as currently understood, and historical restrictions on immigration were minimal. The ruling supports the idea that only individuals with sufficient connections to the national community—those loyal to the country and consented to be governed by its laws—are included in 'the people' protected by the Second Amendment. The majority explicitly avoided determining if the Second Amendment applies to all unlawfully present individuals, focusing solely on Escobar-Ternal's case who had no criminal convictions but was present unlawfully. The concurrence criticized the majority for relying on potentially ambiguous language and attempting to conflate the definitions of 'citizens' and 'the people' in a way that undermines the Founders' intent.

Context: The video features SCOTUS Bar Attorney Andrew Branca analyzing a Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in United States v. Escobar-Ternal, a case concerning whether an illegal alien is protected by the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The analysis focuses heavily on the historical meaning of 'the people' in the Constitution and the Second Amendment, contrasting the majority's narrow view of this term with the dissenting arguments based on historical context and the potential implications for birthright citizenship and the rights of non-citizens.