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“Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition”

Written by Russ Jones

Thursday, 26 June 2008

Washington, D.C. – In a 5-4 decision, June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Constitutional right to bear arms by striking down the Washington, D.C. gun ban. Justice Antonin Scalia delivered the opinion in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The majority opinion confirms that the Second Amendment protects "the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation." Justices Breyer, Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg dissented. The Court did not imply that all limits are invalid, stating: "Although we do not undertake an exhaustive historical analysis today of the full scope of the Second Amendment, nothing 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 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."

Mathew D. Staver, Founder of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law, commented: "'Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition' is the best way to describe today’s decision. The right to self-defense is a liberty at the core of the American Revolution. It was ordinary people who defended life and liberty against organized tyranny. The King of Great Britain sought to disarm the colonists because he, like any criminal, knew that a disarmed people are a weak people who can easily be overcome. The Second Amendment stands as an impenetrable wall between tyranny and freedom."

U.S. Representative Todd Tiahrt (R-Goddard, Kansas) quickly affirmed the decision following the court’s ruling against the District of Columbia’s 32-year ban on handguns.

"Today’s historic Supreme Court ruling affirms our Constitution’s Second Amendment right that guarantees individuals the right to own firearms," said Tiahrt. "Residents in our nation’s capitol have had their rights to own handguns unconstitutionally restricted, giving thugs and criminals less reason to think twice about using weapons against innocent civilians."

The case was started by Dick Heller, who was joined by six other D.C. residents who wanted to keep handguns in their private homes. The gun ban prohibited ownership of handguns that were not registered with the District before 1976. It also required that all guns already registered be disassembled, unloaded, or secured by a trigger lock. The District of Columbia Court of Appeal ruled the ban was unconstitutional; holding the right to own handguns was protected by the Second Amendment. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court, which heard oral argument in March. Thirty-one states submitted amicus briefs. Some federal courts have ruled that the Second Amendment did not create an individual right, but only applied to state militias. The last time the Court ruled on the Second Amendment right to bear arms was in 1939.

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said the ruling could put more guns in the hands of young people. "I am personally deeply disappointed and quite frankly outraged by today's decision," he said. "Today's decision flies in the face of laws that have helped decrease gun violence in the District of Columbia."