In a momentous and long-awaited decision this morning, US Supreme Court gives a broad interpretation to the Second Amendment — saying the right to bear arms is not limited to some collective right of a militia, but protects an individual right to bear arms. In the case DC v. Heller, Washington, DC ban on handguns in the home is struck down 5-4. Scalia writes for the majority.
In a momentous and long-awaited decision this morning, US Supreme Court gives a broad interpretation to the Second Amendment — saying the right to bear arms is not limited to some collective right of a militia, but protects an individual right to bear arms. In the case DC v. Heller, Washington, DC ban on handguns in the home is struck down 5-4. Scalia writes for the majority.
“The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditional lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”
Minute by minute coverage and a self-updating live blog over at scotusblog.
The gun-control Brady Center will react here, and the NRA will throw a big party.
Cato Institute scholar, Robert Levy, one of the people who launched the case, had this to say: “Heller is merely the opening salvo in a series of litigations that will ultimately resolve what weapons and persons can be regulated and what restrictions are permissible. But because of Thursday’s decision, the prospects for reviving the original meaning of the Second Amendment are now substantially brighter.”