Court rules in favor of Second Amendment gun right

Court rules in favor of Second Amendment gun right

ap.google.com

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

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.

(visit the link for the full news article)


[edit on 2008/6/26 by GradyPhilpott]

This is a tremendous breakthrough for freedom in America.

The ruling does not, however, strike down all gun laws or restriction on where guns might be carried such as schools or laws that prevent felons or the mentally ill from carrying guns.

Most notably the ruling strikes down the D.C. gun ban and laws that require that guns be carried or stored in an unusable state and foremost, the ruling affirms the individual right to keep and bear arms.

It is amazing to me that it has taken this long for there to be a Supreme Court ruling on the matter of individual right, but now the Second Amendment stands as do all other rights guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

For many of us, this has been a long battle and for many an expensive one. In the years since I took up this cause, I have gone from being an annual member of the National Rifle Association to being a Benefactor Member. I have annual memberships in the Golden Eagles and Second Amendment Task Force, both of which don't come cheap, not to mention the various donations of time writing letters to legislators and the Presidents of the United States expressing my views on this subject.

While I don't want to rush into a legal analysis of the ruling which I am not qualified to do, I would assume that this will not put an end to "sensible gun laws" as the left likes to define their anti-gun agenda. It will, however, place a limit on the incrementally more stringent definitions of just what "sensible gun laws" are.

Here is what I consider to be the heart of the ruling as found in the synopsis.

The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.

blogs.usatoday.com...

The ruling does not strike down the requirement in some jurisdictions to register firearms and to obtain a license to own, but it does state that the requirement cannot be applied arbitrarily.

I believe licensure and registration will continued to be challenged in court, so the battle is not over, but we know as of today that our right to keep and bear arms is intact and safe.



(visit the link for the full news article)

Related News Stories:
Supreme Court Gun Ban Ruling Expected Tomorrow

Related ATS Threads:
High court takes up 2nd Amendment


[edit on 2008/6/26 by GradyPhilpott]

I'm still looking for somewhere that confirms this.

But thank God.

reply to post by GradyPhilpott



Excellent news Grady.

Thats a blow for freedom if there ever was one. Peple do not realise just how lucky they are in the USA to be able to bear arms if need be, or if they want to.

I really hope this is brought out into the MSM and shared with every citizen of the USA..

You still have some people left with back bone enough to fight... Awesome.

Wow, just when I was loosing faith in the SCOTUS (see www.abovetopsecret.com...), they come through with a good decision!


At least now if someone rapes my children I can shoot them myself!

In all seriousness, though, this is a boon for the Consitution and the American people. I can't wait to read the actual text of the decision.

According to the cable-media they even went one step further and declared the D.C. weapons ban unconstitutional.

This is outstanding news, at least on the surface. We'll have to wait to see the details. I do know it was a 5-4 vote on the usual lines, with Kennedy siding with conservatives.

IMO, the four dissenting justices should be impeached immediately.

I'd say this calls for a 21,000,000 gun salute.

Great news here, something that seems to be in short supply lately.....

As a Life Member of The NRA I dance with glee at this great news.

I live in Georgia and in the past 2 years our gun laws have been amended to give us broader guns rights.

Long live our freedoms.

It was a 5-4 vote very close. I figured this would happen because they would have some serious uproar if they didn't. Its easier for the NWO to just close gunshops. The newest tactic is to stop selling bullets which is happenning more and more. The war for our guns is still ongoing because the NWO hates the people being armed.

The NRA is also completely controlled and have actually supported most gun control legislation. This is more like a breather we have been given and they will just continue passing laws that say that if you have PTSD you can't have a gun or if you got a pain killer for a toothache you can't have a gun things like that. They will just remover the 2nd amendment by stealth that is how they like it.

Here is another source of the ruling
Court rules infavor of 2nd amendment gun rights

YahooNews

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.

This makes me want to go out and buy an assault rifle right now. I can't cause i'm broke but it makes me want to.

The system is broken when it comes to certain things but this goes to show that we the people can make a difference if we stand up. If we sit down and take unjust treatment than we will lose all of our rights.

Thank goodness. I would like to kiss those 5 judges who voted for 2nd Amendment being an individual right. No tongue, of course. But thank you SO much.

And yes people have no idea how lucky they are that we have this right. Otherwise we might have been speaking Japanese or Russian. Both countries wanted to invade the US. They both were not afraid of our military. But they were afraid of the citizens who would be armed. The price to fight every square block would be too much.

God Bless America.

I used to live in Los Angeles. Everyone thought you were a nut owning one firearm. I owned more than one. You can imagine how they thought of me. One day, my coworkers asked, "Why do you need a gun? To go postal?" I said, "No, the only one here who would go postal is creepy, quiet Alex." They thought for half a second said, "You're right!"

Then I told them I own a firearm to protect myself and my loved ones. They replied with, "I would just call the cops." I immediately said, "Well, how fast does it take for the cops to respond?" All of them had no idea. I educated them by saying, "5 minutes to 2 hours!"

[edit on 26-6-2008 by guppy]

I am soo joyed by this judgment.Freedom is still there and as a user who is not American ,today i feel more American than ever!!

GO FREEDOM!!!



[edit on 26-6-2008 by greenjuice]

As I am from another country I really do not get what the big fuss is... People in Europe have more strict weapons regulation.. and we have more liberties than the Americans do...

Its just some crazy obsession with firearms on your side of the Atlantic...

WOO HOO. Lock and load. Let's go do us some shootin'!

Just what we need - MORE people with guns who think they know what they are doing with them, running around playing sheriff. Guess I should invest in some kevlar.

Gun owners rejoice We can keep em a while longer . I know i am .

One of the good decisions from the court . Hope they keep up the good work . First habeas corpus is again intact now the right to arm bears opps bear arms . sorry couldn't help myself with that one .

Three cheers for the supreme court .

Notice how the media like to say how R.G. Ginsberg is so great, but they never show her on TV.
I listened to the oral arguments on the Guantanamo detainees, and she was struggling to understand what the question was.
Media tells us we need to elect Obama so he can appoint another Ginsberg.
Think about that when you consider not voting in the upcoming election, because you do not think McCain is conservative enough.

[edit on 26-6-2008 by jmdewey60]

Did any of you take the time to read the Ruling itself, or did you just read the article?

This is horrible, they ruled that we can own guns, but must get a permit (in D.C.)...

However, it is up to the Government to decide whether or not to issue any permits, and how many.

This law sets a dangerous precedent, what other Rights will you now be required to get a permit for? Who will issue those? How long is the waiting time? Background checks? What if they decide to issue only 200 per year? Then what? The supreme court has already ruled on this issue...

Please guys, Read the Ruling itself. It is scary; the amount of double-think they use... Good ol' Delphi technique

Originally posted by Alphard
People in Europe have more strict weapons regulation.. and we have more liberties than the Americans do...

Yes, mods, I know that this is a one line response, but I think that the quote above pretty much speaks for itself.