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Jun
27
Grant Park
Filed Under Chicago | 2 Comments
Grant Park. Photo by Christopher Hedges
Jun
26
Historic 2nd Amendment Decision
Filed Under Second Amendment, Supreme Court | 6 Comments
Photo by Horizontal.Integration
People are allowed to have handguns in their homes, if they aren’t disqualified from exercising their Second Amendment rights, holds the U.S. Supreme Court majority in District of Columbia v. Heller (PDF), 554 U.S. ___ (2008).
In sum, we hold that the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense. Assuming that Heller is not disqualified from the exercise of Second Amendment rights, the District must permit him to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.
The Court split between conservatives and liberals. Justice Scalia delivered the Court’s opinion with Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito joining. Justice Stevens filed a dissenting opinion and Justices Souter, Ginsurg, and Breyer joined. Justice Breyer also filed a dissenting opinion and he was joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg.
Justice Stevens writes in his dissent:
When each word in the text is given full effect, the Amendment is most naturally read to secure to the people a right to use and possess arms in conjunction with service in a well-regulated militia.
It will be interesting to see the Supreme Court’s Heller decision has any effect on Gary, Indiana’s lawsuit against gun manufacturers.
It also underscores how important the 2008 presidential election will be if any of the justices retire during the 44th president’s term. In this case, it showed a differences between the Justices — the majority was in favor of individual liberties while the minority favored collective (in the form of a government militia) rights.
