News Supreme Court says Americans have right to guns

Supreme Court says Americans have right to guns

It will be interesting to see how the gun control hand-wringers deal with this one.



Quote:
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer 5 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history.

The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.

The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."

The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.

The Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home," Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington's requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, but left intact the licensing of guns.

In a dissent he summarized from the bench, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that the majority "would have us believe that over 200 years ago, the Framers made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons."

He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found."

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.

Gun rights supporters hailed the decision. "I consider this the opening salvo in a step-by-step process of providing relief for law-abiding Americans everywhere that have been deprived of this freedom," said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association.

The NRA will file lawsuits in San Francisco, Chicago and several of its suburbs challenging handgun restrictions there based on Thursday's outcome.

The capital's gun law was among the nation's strictest.

Dick Anthony Heller, 66, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood as the court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in Heller's favor and struck down Washington's handgun ban, saying the Constitution guarantees Americans the right to own guns and that a total prohibition on handguns is not compatible with that right.

The issue caused a split within the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney supported the appeals court ruling, but others in the administration feared it could lead to the undoing of other gun regulations, including a federal law restricting sales of machine guns. Other laws keep felons from buying guns and provide for an instant background check.

Scalia said nothing in Thursday's ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."

In a concluding paragraph to the his 64-page opinion, Scalia said the justices in the majority "are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country" and believe the Constitution "leaves the District of Columbia a variety of tools for combating that problem, including some measures regulating handguns."

The law adopted by Washington's city council in 1976 bars residents from owning handguns unless they had one before the law took effect. Shotguns and rifles may be kept in homes, if they are registered, kept unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks.

Opponents of the law have said it prevents residents from defending themselves. The Washington government says no one would be prosecuted for a gun law violation in cases of self-defense.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080626/...co/scotus_guns

Justice Stephen Breyer wrote a separate dissent in which he said, "In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."

Yeah, it's easy to say that when you DON'T live in a crime-ridden urban area. I'm happy for Mr. Heller. He's an honest, law-abiding citizen trying to protect himself and his family the best way he can. To have a local government align him with criminals(the intended target of the law I suppose) is insulting to say the least. Maybe now D.C.'s overall crime rate will start to decline.

Justice Breyer is probably one of the "guns for me, not for thee" crowd. Kinda like anti-gun Rosie O'Donnell...and her armed private bodyguard. lol!

like that'll happen?

i'll go buy me a AK47 for protection against terrorist attacks

moved in to current news

Those are shitty guns. If you really want "protection from terrorist attacks" invest in something with better craftsmanship. I'd suggest an AR-15 chambered in .223.


You know, when we went to the Lexus event in Joliet, the one thing I really hated about making the trip was that I had to leave my handgun at home. I've passed tests and background checks the anti-gun movement wouldn't dare allow themselves to be subjected to, and yet Illinois doesn't think I'm responsible enough to carry a handgun with me....or think its citizens are responsible to even own a handgun. Hopefully the Heller decision will lay the groundwork for a change.

oh i'd put money on the Illinois law being overturned.

eh, you have a point.

i just don't believe it'll actually come to pass.

personally it does not really bother me weather these laws are removed or not i mean people will have guns no matter what the law is so some people should just deal with it. if you dont like guns then dont buy one but dont complain because your neighbor has one. Honestly it is not hard to get an illegal gun these days as long as you have the money. P.S imo i think ak47's are more reliable than ar15's the .223 is more accurate when shooting at something 200-300 yards away but when 25 yards away Ak47 would be my choice i have seen one fired fully auto from 10 feet away and it was scary.

hey Eric, can you carry in MD?