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November 26th, 2007

"Gun Control in Washington D.C."

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider the highly controversial Second Amendment issue of gun control in an appeals case stemming from the District of Columbia, where gun-control laws are among the strictest in the nation.

Decades-Old Gun Law Struck Down

For more than three decades, Washington D.C. law made it nearly impossible for an individual to legally own a handgun, even for the purpose of self-defense. It also required lawfully owned rifles and shotguns to be kept unloaded.

Earlier this year, however, a lower federal court struck down portions of the city’s longstanding gun law. Washington D.C. mayor, Adrian M. Fenty, declared that the city would seek to have the law reinstated.

“We have made our determination that this law can and should be defended, and we are willing to take our case to the highest court in the land,” Fenty said.

Defending the Right to Bear Arms

Opponents of the strict gun law are equally committed to having their case heard.

“After three decades of failure trying to control firearms in the District, it’s time for law-abiding city residents to be able to defend themselves in their homes. We are confident the Supreme Court will vindicate that right in Washington D.C., and across the nation,” said attorney Alan Gura.

As early as next spring, the justices could hear the case of Heller v. District of Columbia. Dick Heller is an armed security guard in the city and one of six plaintiffs enlisted by Robert A. Levy of the Cato Institute who said the case is about the right to possess “handguns in the home for self-defense.”

“I want to be able to defend myself and my wife from violent criminals, and the Constitution says I have a right to do that by keeping a gun in my home,” Heller said.

The Supreme Court & Gun Control

The last time the Supreme Court took up the issue of gun control was 1939 when it ruled that a sawed-off shotgun was not what the Founding Fathers meant by “arms.”

During his Senate confirmation, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. said that the 1939 ruling left “very open” the question of whether an individual has a right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

The high court is expected to hear the case as early as next spring.

(Source: The New York Times online)

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