Divided Court Finds Individual Right to Own Guns

Carolyn Hileman - The Voice* | June 26, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, has struck down the District of Columbia’s handgun ban.

The ruling says Americans have the individual right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the Associated Press reported. It is the high court’s first definitive Second Amendment ruling in U.S. history.

The Supreme Court held that “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”

But the court also found limitations: “Like most rights, the Second Amendment right is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose: For example, concealed weapons prohibitions have been upheld under the Amendment or state analogues. The Court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.”

Swift reaction

“We’re pleased that the Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment protects the right of Americans to keep and bear arms,” White House spokesman Dana Perino said in a statement.

“This is a great day for law-abiding citizens of the nation’s capital who have unjustly been denied their full right to protect themselves and families for over 30 years,” said Deneen Borelli, a member of the Project 21 black leadership network.

“The Second Amendment guarantees the individual right of citizens to arm themselves for self-defense and not become easy prey. Perhaps the government should find a better way to keep illegal guns away from criminals and not law-abiding citizens,” Borelli added.

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