In This Article
30-Second Summary
Headline Link: ‘U.S. Supreme Court says Constitution gives Americans Gun Rights’
Background: District of Columbia v. Heller
Historical Context: The Second Amendment; U.S. v. Miller (1939)
Opinion & Analysis: Proceeding with precedent
Reference: Web Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, Heller ruling, Bill of Rights
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Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Dick Heller
Dick Heller
Supreme Court Rules Gun Ownership Justifiable for Self-Defense
June 26, 2008 05:38 PM
by
Anne Szustek
With a 5-4 vote, the high court declared a D.C. ban on handguns unconstitutional under the Second Amendment—the first time it’s defined the text since its 1791 drafting.
Email This30-Second Summary
Federal guard Dick Heller of Washington, D.C., carried a gun on the job but was not allowed to register his gun for home use. This prompted him to protested three gun control laws in the district, along with a group of other plaintiffs. The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on the case in March regarding whether the right to bear arms applies to all individuals or is contingent on membership in a state-run militia.
At the time, Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a swing voter, pointed out that those living in “wilderness” areas often have a greater need to possess firearms.
Thursday’s ruling ends the capital city’s 32-year-ban on handguns.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority Thursday that the right of individuals to possess firearms is backed by “the historical narrative” of the country.
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the dissent, arguing that the framers of the constitution “made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons.”
The high court broached the topic of gun rights in U.S. v. Miller in 1939. That ruling did not directly define the scope of the Second Amendment, though gun control advocates often cite it.
The decision will leave most states’ and cities’ current gun control laws in tact, writes SCOTUS blog. But some gun control proponents remain unconvinced. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, for one, called the ruling a “very frightening decision.”
At the time, Justice Anthony Kennedy, often a swing voter, pointed out that those living in “wilderness” areas often have a greater need to possess firearms.
Thursday’s ruling ends the capital city’s 32-year-ban on handguns.
Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority Thursday that the right of individuals to possess firearms is backed by “the historical narrative” of the country.
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the dissent, arguing that the framers of the constitution “made a choice to limit the tools available to elected officials wishing to regulate civilian uses of weapons.”
The high court broached the topic of gun rights in U.S. v. Miller in 1939. That ruling did not directly define the scope of the Second Amendment, though gun control advocates often cite it.
The decision will leave most states’ and cities’ current gun control laws in tact, writes SCOTUS blog. But some gun control proponents remain unconvinced. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, for one, called the ruling a “very frightening decision.”
Headline Link: ‘U.S. Supreme Court says Constitution gives Americans Gun Rights’
The Associated Press writes that Thursday’s decision “went further than even the Bush administration wanted,” and that gun rights proponents feel empowered by the ruling. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association called it “the opening salvo in a step-by-step process” of ensuring access to firearms. Justice Scalia argued that Americans are drawn to handguns for self-defense partly for the reason that they “can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police.”
Source: International Herald Tribune (AP)
Background: District of Columbia v. Heller
The Supreme Court heard arguments on District of Columbia v. Heller in March. Dick Heller, a federal guard working in Washington, D.C., joined plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the district after being rejected for home-use registration of the gun he used on his job. The district contended that the Second Amendment only applied to state-affiliated militias.
Source: findingDulcinea
A group of plaintiffs filed suit against the district, challenging a district code that bans the registration of handguns, as well as a second law that bars carrying a pistol without a license. One gun owner disputed a third gun control code that states “that all lawfully owned firearms be kept unloaded and either disassembled or trigger locked.”
Source: On the Docket
Legal blog BLT writes that, during the first day of arguments in March, none of the Supreme Court justices seemed to be completely against a full handgun ban. Justice Anthony Kennedy, often the swing voter, brought up the matter of “wilderness” homeowners, who may have a greater need to bear firearms.
Source: BLT: The Blog of the Legal Times
Historical Context: The Second Amendment; U.S. v. Miller (1939)
SCOTUS Blog outlines the rationale behind the Second Amendment. Fourth President James Madison submitted a list of 40 changes to the Constitution. When he drafted three of these changes into a single amendment, it read, “The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; a well-armed and well-regulated militia being the best security of a free country: but no person religiously scrupulous of bearing arms, shall be compelled to render military service in person.” The ratified version of this amendment is considerably shorter.
Source: SCOTUS Blog
U.S. v. Miller, heard and decided in 1939, was the last time the Supreme Court had heard arguments pertaining to the scope of the Second Amendment. The majority statement ruled, “In the absence of any evidence tending to show that possession or use of a ‘shotgun having a barrel of less than 18 inches in length’ at this time has some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia, we cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear such an instrument.” The case is often used as a precedent by advocates of gun control. The full text of the ruling is available from Cornell University’s law school.
Source: Cornell Law School
Opinion & Analysis: Proceeding with precedent
The majority opinion wrote, or as SCOTUS blog put it, “tartly remarked,” that “it is particularly wrongheaded to read Miller for more than what it said, because the case did not even purport to be a thorough examination of the Second Amendment.”
Source: SCOTUS blog
Presidential contenders Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., both came out in favor of the Supreme Court’s decision. Obama said, “I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms. … Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is … subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe.” McCain, quick to distinguish his viewpoint from that of his opponent, told the press, “Unlike Senator Obama, who refused to join me in signing a bipartisan amicus brief, I was pleased to express my support and call for the ruling issued today.” Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley called the decision “a very frightening decision.” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., also decried the ruling: “With this decision, 70 years of precedent has gone out the window.”
Source: The Huffington Post
Robert A. Levy, senior fellow at the Cato Institute and co-counsel for Dick Heller, writes that the first 10 amendments guarantee “fundamental” rights, including possession of firearms. He argues that self-defense is the essence of District of Columbia v. Heller. “The Second Amendment to the Constitution was intended to safeguard that right. Banning handguns outright is unconstitutional.”
Source: Cato Institute
Reference: Web Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court, Heller ruling, Bill of Rights
The Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller, “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.” The full text of the ruling is available as a PDF document from SCOTUS blog.
Source: SCOTUS blog [PDF]
The first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, are available from the National Archives.
Source: findingDulcinea
FindingDulcinea’s Web Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court includes links about its history, landmark cases, and biographies of past and present justice.
Source: findingDulcinea
© 2008 Dulcinea Media, Inc.
