November 20, 2007
SCOTUS To Review D.C. Gun Ban
The Supreme Court has agreed to interpret for the first time whether the Second Amendment grants individuals the right to possess handguns.
The amendment states only that "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 court has never made the distinction between militias and individuals on gun ownership, nor has it delineated the authority of states and localities on the matter.
At issue is Washington, D.C.'s 31-year-old ban on handguns, one of the strictest gun-control laws in the nation. In March, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that the District's law was unconstitutional. "I am personally deeply disappointed and frankly outraged by this decision," said Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) at the time. "It flies in the face of laws that have helped decrease gun violence in the District of Columbia."
The District is just one of a number of major urban areas grappling with a high rate of gun violence. The Washington Post reported on Monday that the murder count for 2007 already equals that of 2006. Less than 150 miles to the north, Philadelphia has been wrestling with an even bigger gun-violence problem, having led the 10 largest American cities in murders last year.
For gun-control proponents, the decision to take the D.C. Circuit Court's ruling to the conservative-leaning high court is rife with risk. A ruling against the District would affect not just D.C.'s efforts to stem its gun-violence issues but those of Philadelphia and other struggling municipalities as well.
The Post and Bloomberg News have more on the issue.
Posted at 3:06 PM
Posted to:
Constitution, Crime, Supreme Court
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