http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/26/scotus.guns/index.html

That is why it is sooo important to vote for a conservative President. Can you imagine if Gore or Kerry had placed those Judges. We would have been disarmed overnight.

That was close, but a sigh of relief

unfortunately most Americans that own guns will never know how close they came to losing them today.

You're absolutely right and we should all have a moment of silence for Ronald Reagan. He's the one who is responsible for getting the right Justices on the bench.

If you would like to read the highlights of the ruling or download the entire document visit the blog. I've just posted some excerpts.

Victory in DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ET AL. v. HELLER

Amen Gary, I miss the Gipper and unfortunately I don't think there will ever be another one like him. I'm still concerned because according to the news many of the big city mayors are clinging to the issue of "military" type weapons. I haven't read the whole decision and I'm not an attorney so it wouldn't matter anyways but I did see something about military type weapons. The mayor of DC said that this does not affect the majority of semi automatic handguns from being banned in his city.

such a shame that it has to be in question AGAIN anyway. ya know....how many times does it need to be decided? after it was written the first time....duh. it IS our rights as the free.

Thank God there is people out there that still believe in the 2nd Amendment. It is our right to own and bare arms. It was so important to our founding fathers that they made it "second" in the Constitutional Amendments. They knew that we needed them in the home and on our persons.

My opinion: The Founding Fathers also knew that without any way to 'revolt' against a tyrannical government; the government would have nothing to fear of its citizens and could do as it pleased. ie Gun Control works right? Russia, China.

God must love stupid people; because he makes so many of them.

Gary is perfectly right: Ronnie was great, both for the US and the rest of the world. Half of my dissertation dealt with his policies against the Soviet Union in Europe and how that contributed tremendously to the fall of the communist empire. He's also one of the few, perhaps the only, sitting US presidents who addressed an NRA annual meeting to express his support for the 2nd amendment.

And to you all stateside: you have no idea how much this decision means for the shooting sports in the rest of the world. Without the US market for guns and sport shooting writ large, no more markets anywhere in the long run....this has been a cliffhanger for all of us.

Yes , we are very forntunate the deciion went the way it did.

What's really sad is the 5-4 vote. It's very cleary written as a right and the vote should have been 9-0!!!!!!

Am I wrong?

you are absolutely right tig, thats why even with this victory I'm still only cautiously optimistic and even the court acknowledged that this does not clarify all the issues involved which means registration and boneheaded control measures can still be implemented they just can't confiscate them.

One victory at a time is they way you win a war!

I'm no expert on your legal system, but now that your highest court has ruled that the second amendment actually means what it says and more importantly irrefutably defined the rights conferred by your constitution, then shouldn't the Feds be investigating and charging all those conspiring to infringe those rights?

If they don't, wouldn't the NRA have grounds for a class action?

I was just think the same thing but I don't know much about class action qualifications. The problem might be how would you demonstrate that you attempted to buy a handgun legally and were denied by law. Sort of a catch 22.

They should be charged with frivilous law suite for bringing it up in the first place. What a waist of our tax money. They continue to pull crap like this and it keeps getting shut down. It needs to stop. If they charged the anti's with frivilous suite's they might stop. JMO

i dont think you can stop them they are all brain dead anyway.
but maybe they will think a little more.

And Barry came out right away to say he always believed the Second Amendment provided an individual right. Right. The fact remains that four justices believe we have no constitutional right to own firearms.

That is really sad that Constitutional judges don't believe in what the Constitution says. Very very Sad!

It remains very unsettling that five highly educated, intelligent jurists sitting on our highest court, and having given their oath to uphold the Constitution, "find" that the Second Amendment does not provide an individual right and offer a "balancing" test unlike anything used for any other Constitutional right or protection to sidestep the majority's decision in the first gun rights case to reach the Court in 70 years. We did not win this one by much and 5-4 is way too close for an primary individual liberty and protection the Founders put second only to freedom of religion and speech. More like we just dodged a bullet.

"The self-defense interest in maintaining loaded handguns in the home to shoot intruders is not the primary interest, but at most a subsidiary interest," he wrote. "The Second Amendment's language, while speaking of a 'militia,' says nothing of 'self-defense.' "

So, the one writing the disent acknowldges(don't have spell check)that protection is an interst and still votes against the exgistance of that interest. Also as far as protection goes then president Andrew Jackson shot and killed a man on the white house lawn. How is that for precednet. He also sights riffles and shotguns as options what if it was a ban on long guns instead of handguns would he object. I like, not, how handguns are on average weaker then long guns but are more villianized. Yes this is not a total victroy but a good win. Vote for judges this fall when choosing a president.

YES! And vote for the rest of us who cannot.

I have an interesting thought.

What happens to all of those who were arrested and were or are in jail for violating the D.C. ban (as well as other cities), since it was voted Unconstitutional?! Talk about class action law suits!!!

I saw a deal on the news that they were releasing some of those people but I hope they sue DC into the dark ages, if we are going to get raped on taxes by politicians any ways it might as well go to fellow gun owners who were wronged by the govt.

I just saw something tonight on chanel 13 about the DC gun law. These idiots were saying that it was a bad idea because now the criminals would need guns because the home owners now have guns and that it would cause more violence. They were basically saying that with strict gun control that the criminals would only be intrested in things of value and that tring to protect your property only caused uneeded injury or death.
It turns out one of the guys sitting on stage talking was there because his son died while breaking into a house but if there were stricter gun laws that his son would still be alive. This was some african American talk show that really supported obama binladen.
It reminds me of the last company I worked for were every one on the factory floor was so anti gun except me and one other person and I live in Texas so it was strange, then I found out that there were only two of use that were legally able to purchase or even own a gun.
Bill