Today the Supreme Court affirmed an individual’s right to bear arms.

The court’s 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns and imperiled similar prohibitions in other cities, Chicago and San Francisco among them. Federal gun restrictions, however, were expected to remain largely intact.

…

Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said an individual right to bear arms exists and is supported by “the historical narrative” both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.

Here is a link to reactions from some politicians.  Party lines were blurred with Wisconsin Senator Russ Feingold calling it “a long overdue decision.”  However, other Democrats, such as Dianne Feinstein who said that she was “profoundly disappointed in Justice Roberts and Justice Alito,” toed the standard liberal line.  John McCain hailed the decision as “a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom.” Barack Obama was a bit more measured in his words, choosing to offer up a neutral quote probably out of recognition that revealing his true thoughts on gun laws would not serve him well politically.

“While it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today’s ruling … will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.” - Sen. Barack Obama

The 5-4 decision underscores the tenuous balance of the court - something all conservatives should keep in mind when debating whether or not McCain is “conservative enough.”  Is it worth casting a ceremonial objection ballot and risk letting Barack Obama select Supreme Court justices?  I think not.

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This entry was posted by Brian on Thursday, June 26th, 2008 at 9:23 pm and is filed under Firearms, Legal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. Please note the copyright policy.