I'm sorry. But wasn't this covered in civics class 1787?
The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment.
The split was the usual suspects, with Justice Anthony Kennedy jumping the fence to the right side of Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
The basic issue for the justices was whether the amendment protects an individual's right to own guns no matter what, or whether that right is somehow tied to service in a state militia.
Writing for the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia said that an individual right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted.
The Constitution does not permit "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense in the home," Scalia said. The court also struck down Washington's requirement that firearms be equipped with trigger locks or kept disassembled, but left intact the licensing of guns.
Scalia noted that the handgun is Americans' preferred weapon of self-defense in part because "it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police."
Gawd, I love that man! But the Court goes on to say the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is not an unlimited right.
Scalia said nothing in Thursday's ruling should "cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons or the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings."
One can't own machine guns or rocket launchers, either (darn it!).
Everyone and there dog yaps about it here.
Update: (must be because he's so tolerant & open minded) Liberal Blogger Calls on Scalia to be Murdered.
Hello. FBI?
