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Supreme Court Says City Gun Ban Unconstitutional
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by Dave Keating | June 26, 2008 at 06:56 am
1129 views | 25 Recommendations | 10 comments
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The Supreme Court has never before in its history made a ruling on Americans' right to own guns. The court has effectively ruled unconstitutional the ban on handguns in effect in several major US cities. Washington DC and Chicago have total bans on guns within city limits, and other cities such as New York have partial bans. This ruling will no doubt be decried by law enforcement officials in those cities, where guns must now once again be allowed.
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."
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Dave Keating
London, United Kingdom
Jay Tamboli
Washington, District Of Columbia, United States
Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (10)
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Dave Keatingat 07:10 on June 26th, 2008
breaking news - opinion just released
at 07:23 on June 26th, 2008
Dave Keating, I like this story. It's good stuff.
at 07:26 on June 26th, 2008
GOOD!
Now we all retain, if we choose, a tool by which we can overturn the Supreme Court decision on the death penalty for child rape!
at 07:33 on June 26th, 2008
I think that this kind of comment is one that the gun-control nuts love to see.
at 07:29 on June 26th, 2008
This is a victory for all law-abiding citizens who understand that legal gun ownership and concealed-carry permits have reduced violent crimes in every state where such permits have been enacted.
Whether this ruling applies to cities such as New York and Chicago is not yet clear.
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Dave Keatingat 08:25 on June 26th, 2008
I'm removing the urgent flag for this story for the time being. If there are any new developments, please let me know.
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Dave Keatingat 08:27 on June 26th, 2008
My understanding is that it will directly apply to the Chicago ban because it is basicalyl the same as the DC rule, but will not apply to New York because that one is less restrictive. Mayor Bloomberg seemed to believe this at least absed on his statements just now.
at 08:39 on June 26th, 2008
Dave Keating, I like this story. It's good stuff. This is a good first step for DC. The mayor has appeared and began setting limits. DC has one of the highest murder rates in America. Not being able to get a carry permit will not prevent criminals from killing citizens. Folks need to be able to have a gun in their car, to and from work, carry to and from house. What part of the word, "Bear" Arms does DC not understand.
DC police and the various law enforcement cannot protect every citizen all the time. One has to be serious about their own protection. My first line of defense in my home is a Shar Pei, Chow, and my automatic alarm system a Chihuahua. I figure I should at least give a criminal a chance. to go away
at 11:44 on June 26th, 2008
Obama's position on the gun ban.
at 12:55 on June 26th, 2008
It's not like guns haven't already found their way into the hands of criminals in DC. Take a look at this map showing every murder in DC from November 2004 to November 2006 (Via Wikipedia).
The overwhelming majority of homicides were comitted with guns. I wonder if that would have happened if the thugs committing these murders thought they could have been shot at by their victims? Doubt it.