March 18 marked a pivotal day for the Supreme Court of the United States of America. That was the day justices heard the case of District of Columbia vs. Heller.
The hearing concerned a D.C. law that says residents cannot own handguns without first registering it with the city. While this law in itself does not ban handguns, the city of Washington, D.C., stopped registering handguns in 1976. This prevented citizens from owning handguns. The law also states that rifles or shotguns cannot be loaded or assembled.
For the first time since 1939, the Court considered whether the Second Amendment applies collectively to a state’s right to form a militia or independently to an individual’s right to own guns. The amendment states: “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 1939 ruling upheld the federal regulation of an individual’s use of sawed-off shotguns, but did not address the broader constitutional issue of whether the amendment deals with the state or the individual. A ruling for D.C. vs. Heller is expected in late June.
Ed Board is glad that the Supreme Court is finally taking a stance on the Second Amendment. This decision will have an undeniable effect on gun control legislation. If the Court rules in favor of an individual’s right to own guns, gun control laws would face numerous constitutionality charges. If the Court rules in favor of the collective right, then there promises to be more laws dealing with guns and how to restrict the use of them. The outcome of the case could also affect the 2008 presidential election, particularly the Democratic side, since the party’s stance is sketchy at best.
The Second Amendment has always been a controversial issue, but we believe that it is important for both the Supreme Court and U.S. citizens to fully understand what exactly those 27 words mean. It is of the utmost importance for the laws of the United States to be constitutional, and if they aren’t, the Supreme Court needs to rule it as such.
