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| Supreme
Court Decides to Hear D.C. Gun Law Case |
Posted:
11.26.07
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The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to rule on whether Washington, D.C.'s handgun
ban is legal, setting the stage for a showdown over gun control laws that could
affect the 2008 presidential election. Printer-friendly version: PDF | |
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The Supreme Court has decided to consider a petition filed in September by
the city of Washington, D.C., which asked the court to reverse a lower court's
decision to strike down the city's ban on handgun ownership.  "Having
a handgun, whether in the home or outside it, comes at the expense of those who
might be victims. Whatever right the Second Amendment guarantees, it does not
require the District to stand by while its citizens die," the city's petition
to the court said.
The 30-year-old law in question makes it illegal to posses
a handgun inside the city but allows citizens to own shotguns or rifles. Most
of the shootings in the city are committed with handguns. The U.S. Court
of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March 2007 ruled the ban violates the Second
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which states: "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 decision could clarify
whether the Second Amendment protects private gun ownership (the "individual"
interpretation) or only imparts a civic right related to maintaining state militias
(the "collective" interpretation). Also, it will be the first
time the highest court in the land considers an important gun rights case since
1939, according to the Washington Post. | |
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| Militia
versus individual rights | |
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At issue in the D.C. case, which is named District of Columbia v. Dick Anthony
Heller, is whether the city is allowed to outlaw all handguns while still allowing
citizens to own shotguns or rifles. The appeals judges decided
in a 2-1 vote that the Second Amendment "protects an individual right to
keep and bear arms" and "once it is determined -- as we have done --
that handguns are 'arms' referred to in the Second Amendment, it is not open to
the District to ban them."  Most
of the other appeals courts -- there are 13 in all -- have ruled that the Second
Amendment concerns militias ("collective") and does not guarantee private
gun ownership ("individual"). Only the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
based in New Orleans agreed with the D.C. Court.
The Supreme Court usually
takes cases that have been decided differently at various courts of appeals because
diverse interpretations of the Constitution can lead to confusion. | |
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| Impact
of a ruling | |
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The issue of gun control is particularly controversial to many Americans.  Gun
control advocates want the government to be able to regulate weapons to protect
innocent people, while gun rights proponents argue that the Second Amendment guarantees
citizens a right to own weapons, primarily so that they can protect themselves. If
the Supreme Court sides with Washington, D.C. and upholds the handgun ban, it
would validate the legal arguments of the gun control camp. If the court
sides with the appeals court and declares the D.C. ban unconstitutional, it could
become difficult, but not impossible, for the government to regulate ownership
and use of guns, according to Legal Times Magazine. | |
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| New
court lineup | |
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One important factor that could influence the outcome is the relatively new
makeup of the nine-member Supreme Court.  President
Bush recently replaced the conservative Chief Justice William Rehnquist and the
more moderate Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor with two solidly conservative
justices: Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Samuel Alito.
The
court now has four conservative-leaning justices and four liberal-leaning justices,
with Justice Anthony Kennedy straddling the middle. This new lineup gives
conservative judicial decisions, like the D.C. court of appeals' overturning of
the handgun ban, a greater chance of becoming the law of the land.
--Compiled
by Quinn Bowman for NewsHour Extra | |
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