Great news!!!


WASHINGTON -- 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.
This Story 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."
The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.
Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for four colleagues, said the Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home."
In dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that 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."
He said such evidence "is nowhere to be found."
Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.
The capital's gun law was among the nation's strictest.
Dick Anthony Heller, 66, an armed security guard, sued the District after it rejected his application to keep a handgun at his home for protection in the same Capitol Hill neighborhood as the court.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled in Heller's favor and struck down Washington's handgun ban, saying the Constitution guarantees Americans the right to own guns and that a total prohibition on handguns is not compatible with that right.
The issue caused a split within the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney supported the appeals court ruling, but others in the administration feared it could lead to the undoing of other gun regulations, including a federal law restricting sales of machine guns. Other laws keep felons from buying guns and provide for an instant background check.
Scalia said nothing in Thursday's ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."
The law adopted by Washington's city council in 1976 bars residents from owning handguns unless they had one before the law took effect. Shotguns and rifles may be kept in homes, if they are registered, kept unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks.
Opponents of the law have said it prevents residents from defending themselves. The Washington government says no one would be prosecuted for a gun law violation in cases of self-defense.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/26/AR2008062600615.html

From SCOTUSBlog:

Quote:

Tom Goldstein - Quoting the syllabus: 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

.

I was Free yesterday, I am Free today....and I will be Free tomorrow.

A Great Day, today...........

Excellent!

Tom

When they outlaw guns...I'll be an outlaw!

According to this they can't outlaw guns!

So when that happens... none of us will be American's anymore either. (no offense to our international members intended here).

Lets hope the liberals can put this to rest and get on with whats the real problem in society. Criminals ! Bring back public hanging's. Quit putting people in jail longer for drug charges than murder. Jails are loaded with drug users but murderers and rapists go free in 7 years.

I am always asked " you keep your guns loaded " Duh, what good is a gun if its not loaded, a frying pan is more lethal than an unloaded gun.
Maybe there is hope.
God bless America !

Crime is is a lucrative cash cow for legislators, lawyers and judges...

Not to mention job security for law enforcement, corrections and many goverment agencies.

Crime will never die........

I used to spout that back in the day when people would run off at the mouth about getting rid of crime. There's a lot of truth in there. As criminals subside they will simply ratchet down the rules.

Tom

That's great news and it's been a long time coming. Thank God there's still judges with some common sense.I hope this issue can finally be put to rest once and for all.