Supreme Court Strikes Down DC Gun Ban In Historic Decision
By: Stuart O'Neill
Today the US Supreme Court struck down the Washington DC ban on handguns. While not necessarily impacting any other law or regulation, it was the first time in the history of the United States that the Court had handed down an opinion directly on the 2nd Amendment.
The decision was 5-4 with Justice John Paul Stevens writing in a dissenting opinion, 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.”
The decisions potential political impact on the Presidential election from Political Insider:
By re-affirming that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the court effectively takes the gun issue out of the fall campaign. Republicans will now have a very hard time arguing that if you elect Democrats they will take away your guns.
Commentary and reporting at Crooks and Liars, SCOTUSblog, Law Librarian Blog and many others.
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Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority in the …