In District of Columbia v. Heller, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a law on Second Amendment grounds for the first time in U.S. history.
Case Background
The Firearms Control Regulation Act of 1975, a local DC law, bans the possession of handguns within the District of Columbia. Six residents challenged it in 2003; their case was initially dismissed, but was upheld 2-1 by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, and issued a ruling on June 26th, 2008.The Majority Opinion
In an exhaustive 5-4 majority opinion that examines the history of gun laws, and textual evidence from the British colonial era supporting a right to bear arms, Justice Antonin Scalia held that "[t]he 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." Firearms may be only banned if they are "unusual and dangerous"--a standard that the handgun, the most common firearm in the United States, does not meet.The majority opinion was joined by justices Alito, Kennedy, and Thomas, and by chief justice Roberts.
Impact on Existing Gun Control Legislation
In the opinion, Scalia is careful to point out that the ruling should not be read as striking down most gun control laws. "[N]othing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws prohibiting 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." All laws completely prohibiting the possession of handguns are, however, struck down by this opinion.Justice Stevens' Dissent
In a dissent that is almost as comprehensive and exhaustive as that of Justice Scalia, Justice Stevens (joined by justices Breyer, Ginsburg, and Souter) argues that the majority's broad interpretation of the Second Amendment is inconsistent with the Framers' original intent. "The Court would have us believe," Stevens writes, "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, and to authorize this Court to use the common-law process of case-by-case judicial lawmaking to define the contours of acceptable gun control policy ... [and] I could not possibly conclude that the Framers made such a choice."Justice Breyer's Dissent
In a separate dissent, joined by justices Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens, Justice Stephen Breyer argues that preventing urban gun violence is a compelling state interest met by the handgun ban. "In my view," Breyer writes, "there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas."The Second Amendment
The Supreme Court has weighed in on most civil liberties issues, but has been conspicuously shy about enforcing the Second Amendment. This is partly because there is considerable disagreement among legal scholars about what the amendment actually says (see "Does the Second Amendment Protect the Right to Bear Arms?"), a disagreement that is not helped by the fact that it is poorly written and refers to an institution (the "well-regulated militia") that may or may not technically still exist.Robert Longley of About.com: U.S. Government Info has produced a useful short timeline of Second Amendment history.
The Gun Control Debate
In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, About.com: U.S. Liberal Politics guide Deborah White and I had a brief exchange about the role of gun rights in our democracy. You can read it here:- Does America Value Gun Rights More Than Students? (Deborah White / About.com: U.S. Liberal Politics)
- Our Freedoms, Our Lives (Tom Head / About.com: Civil Liberties)
Gun control is also a controversial issue in Canada, as About.com: Canada Online guide Susan Munroe explains in her summary of the gun registry controversy.
According to About.com: Hunting guide Russ Chastain, there are many good reasons to own a gun--but guns can be dangerous if not used properly.
