United States
Small Print of US Supreme Court Ruling 'Comes Very Close to Status Quo'
St Louis Post-Dispatch (Missouri), Editorial
4 July 2008
Two hundred and seventeen years after the Second Amendment was ratified, the U.S. Supreme Court has decided what it means. To bear arms, it turns out, you don't have to belong to a militia after all. In most places, it's been that way all along. On Thursday, a slender 5-4 majority of the court made it official, ruling that the Constitution empowers individuals to own and carry weapons. The ruling is being cheered by gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
High Court Ruling Revives Gun Control as a Political Issue - George Will
Star-Telegram (Dallas-Forth Worth), Column
3 July 2008
WASHINGTON -- By striking down the District of Columbia's extraordinarily strict gun control law, which essentially bans guns, a federal appeals court may have revived gun control as a political issue. It has been mostly dormant since autumn 2000, when Al Gore decided he was less interested in it than in carrying states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania: "Gore Tables Gun Issue As He Courts Midwest" (The New York Times, Sept. 20,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Owners Emboldened, Demand Firearms at Work, on Their Belts
Economist
3 July 2008
On June 26th the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's handgun ban and asserted that individuals have the right to own guns. Gun enthusiasts rejoiced. But as they move to capitalise on this favourable judgment, they may run into new problems. Consider two developing gun-rights controversies. On July 1st Florida became the fourth state to allow people to bring their guns to work. The gun has to stay... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Rights Ruling Will Cost Lives, Both in America and Canada
Red Deer Advocate (Alberta), Opinion
3 July 2008
It's amazing how well-educated, intelligent people can so often do stupid things. Consider, for instance, the United States Supreme Court's decision to shoot down the 32-year-old ban on handguns in Washington, D.C. last week -- declaring it unconstitutional. By a 5-4 margin, the nine justices effectively ruled every American has the right to own guns for self-defence and for hunting. Not surprisingly, supporters... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
4 New Gun Laws Would Make Americans Safer, Still Fit High Court Ruling
Chicago Sun-Times, Editorial
2 July 2008
If Charlton Heston were alive, he'd be beaming. The man who filled the silver screen with chariot races and a parting of the sea played another prominent role in later years -- president of the National Rifle Association. Heston treasured his constitutional right to own a gun and was fond of intoning at NRA conventions, with his rifle held aloft, that his weapon would be taken only "from my cold dead hands." Now, thousands... ( gunpolicy.org )
Canada
Overturning Washington's Handgun Ban May Make US Cities Safer
Toronto Sun (Ontario)
2 July 2008
When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Washington's ban on handguns, our beloved mayor warned this would add to gun violence in Toronto. The mayor is out to lunch -- fear mongering. Again. Under Mayor David Miller's prodding, city council recently voted 31-9 to ban gun clubs in Toronto, hopefully en route to making Toronto a gun-free city. Superficially, it's convenient for those who blame guns for the violence that has been blossoming... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Courts Across America 'Opening Pandora's Box of New Gun Litigation'
Indianapolis Star (Indiana), Column
1 July 2008
The gun lobby at last holds its Holy Grail: a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that the oddly worded Second Amendment, which speaks of a "well regulated militia" in the same sentence as "the right of the people to keep and bear arms," does, in fact, bestow upon individuals a constitutional right to own weapons. Yet it seems that the most extreme crusaders of the right were not sufficiently careful in what they wished for. Even... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
'At Last, Gun Rules We Can All Agree On,' Says Group of 300 US Mayors
Wall Street Journal, Opinion
30 June 2008
Finally. After decades of ideological debates over the meaning of every word and comma contained in the U.S. Constitution's one-sentence Second Amendment, the Supreme Court has issued a ruling that should largely settle the matter. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court found that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to bear arms, while also affirming the constitutionality of reasonable restrictions aimed at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Disintegration of US Democrats' Gun Control Push 'Pretty Much Complete'
New York Times / Campaign Stops, Blog
30 June 2008
The Obama campaign Web site's "In the News" section, which chronicles Barack Obama's recent statements on the 36th anniversary of the passage of Title IX and the Juneteenth holiday celebration, does not include his reaction to the United States Supreme Court decision last week to strike down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns. Though I couldn't find it on the Web site, the campaign did issue a statement -- albeit a fairly tepid one... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
FBI Chief Says High Court Gun Ruling Makes US Campuses Less Secure
Associated Press
30 June 2008
HARTFORD, Connecticut -- FBI Director Robert Mueller on Monday criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, saying it may harm efforts to deter violent crime. Speaking at a convention of the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators in Hartford, Mueller said the ruling "does throw a lot of things up in the air." By a 5-4... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Ban on Seattle City Property Goes Up for Challenge - by Democrats
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Washington)
30 June 2008
OLYMPIA -- A U.S. Supreme Court decision on a Washington, D.C., gun ban combined with Seattle's attempt to restrict guns on city property has sparked a legislative discussion about an issue Washington Democrats have consistently avoided. On Monday, six Democrats from rural state legislative districts called on Attorney General Rob McKenna to issue an opinion on a city's authority to ban people who legally possess firearms from city... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Ruling Should Have No Effect on Connecticut's Gun Control Laws
Hartford Courant (Connecticut), Editorial
30 June 2008
Count us among those who believe the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means what it plainly says. A common-sense reading of that famous single sentence -- "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" -- construes it as creating a collective, not individual, right to possess firearms. But a 5-4 majority of the Supreme... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Plans to Spend $15m Opposing Barack Obama in US Election
Politico (Washington), Web Page
30 June 2008
The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year's presidential campaign, with $15 million of that devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court. "Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision]... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Dodged Voicing an Opinion on DC Gun Ban, Then Applauded It
Washington Post, Column
30 June 2008
After months of claiming he had insufficient information to express an opinion on the District of Columbia's gun law, Barack Obama noted with apparent approval Thursday that the Supreme Court ruled that the 32-year ban on handguns "went too far." But what would he have said had the high court's 5 to 4 majority gone the other way and affirmed the law? Obama's strategists can only thank swing Justice Anthony Kennedy for enabling Justice Antonin... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US High Court Ruling Really a 'Breakthrough to Sensible Gun Control?'
Cox Newspapers (USA), Column
30 June 2008
The gun lobby has finally won its dream ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court, but could it be that this is just the breakthrough which can finally lead to sensible gun control? Going beyond even what the Bush administration had asked of it, a 5-4 majority of the justices has held that "the right to bear arms" is a personal right and not, as federal courts have largely ruled since 1939, a provisional right pegged to maintaining public... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington Faces Hard Fight, Congress Overruling Revised Gun Law
Washington Post, Editorial
30 June 2008
In appealing to the Supreme Court to save the D.C. handgun ban, local officials rightly thought of what was best for the people of Washington, D.C. A lower court had already invalidated the ban, and there was a chance -- albeit limited -- of prevailing. Instead, the high court agreed that the ban is unconstitutional. Officials again must think of those citizens in fashioning the strongest legal protections against gun violence. Even... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
When US Lawmakers 'Rubber-stamp Whatever the NRA Sends Up'
Palm Beach Post (Florida), Editorial
30 June 2008
Last week, the Supreme Court gave the National Rifle Association a split decision. By a vote of 5-4, the court ruled that firearm ownership is an individual right, even though the Second Amendment links that right to service in a militia. But beyond that rewriting of the Constitution's clear "original intent" that most of the justices in the majority usually stress, the ruling does not mean that anyone can carry a Glock wherever... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Advocates Say Illinois Handgun Bans Won't Survive New Law Suits
Associated Press
29 June 2008
CHICAGO -- Mayor Richard Daley and gun control advocates have lined up predicting more innocent lives lost if the city's handgun ban is overturned, but David Sigale isn't buying it. "I don't know for whom the gun ban has made the city safer," said Sigale, one of the attorneys who filed a lawsuit to overturn Chicago's 26-year-old handgun ban just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Washington, D.C.'s gun ban. "It doesn't... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama May Prove Biggest Winner in Wake of US Gun Rights Decision
Boston Globe, Column
29 June 2008
When it comes to gun control, the Democratic Party is a house divided against itself. That helps explain Barack Obama's dizzyingly inconsistent positions on District of Columbia v. Heller, the landmark Second Amendment case decided by the Supreme Court last week. As a candidate for the Illinois Legislature in the 1990s, Obama had supported legislation to "ban the manufacture, sale, and possession of handguns," so it wasn't surprising... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Decision 'Stunning Defeat for Advocates of Gun Control'
Town Hall (USA), Column
29 June 2008
Thomas Jefferson once wrote, pessimistically, "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground." He would probably not have been surprised to see the proliferation of gun control laws in our time. But he might not have anticipated that the water would run back uphill. Thursday's Supreme Court decision affirming that the Second Amendment recognizes an individual right to own firearms for self-defense... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US High Court's Ruling Doesn't Endanger Sensible Gun Control
Capital (Maryland), Editorial
29 June 2008
We have long supported reasonable gun control. There's nothing wrong in principle with licensing and registration. Government has an obligation to keep guns out of the grasp of felons and the mentally ill. And just as the Constitution's First Amendment free speech protection doesn't confer a right to commit libel or sell pornography, the Second Amendment doesn't confer a right to own an assault weapon -- or a howitzer. For all that,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Against Backdrop of US Gun Ruling, Another Young Victim is Buried
Washington Post
28 June 2008
Walter Robinson was buried yesterday, a week after he died and a day after the Supreme Court ruled that the District's gun ban is unconstitutional. He was 16, and he was shot in the head June 20 in Ward 8, a part of the city where far too many boys have died before reaching adulthood. A student at Ballou High School, he was killed in an apparent accident. The suspect is a 14-year-old friend who appeared yesterday in juvenile court,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Court Decision Retains Wide Latitude for Restricting Gun Use in America
Press-Telegram (California), Editorial
28 June 2008
Some of the reaction to the Supreme Court's historic decision on gun control has been extreme, even to the point of laying thousands of future deaths directly at the court's door. More likely, in most places, it will make no immediate difference at all. Long Beach's police chief, Anthony Batts, had it mostly right last week when he said the court's decision wouldn't change much in California. (Actually, it will matter in places... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Handgun Ban Decision 'Offered Something for Both Sides'
Sydney Morning Herald
28 June 2008
NEW YORK, WASHINGTON -- A fortnight ago the Mayor of Washington, Adrian Fenty, instructed his police to set up roadblocks and search everyone entering the suburb of Trinidad, three kilometres from the White House. There had been 22 murders in Trinidad in the first five months of this year. Most were drive-by shootings associated with the drug trade. On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia's ban... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Guns for Safety? Dream On, Conservative Justices of the Supreme Court
Washington Post
28 June 2008
The Supreme Court has spoken: Thanks to the court's blockbuster 5 to 4 decision Thursday, Washingtonians now have the right to own a gun for self-defense. I leave the law to lawyers, but the public health lesson is crystal clear: The legal ruling that the District's citizens can keep loaded handguns in their homes doesn't mean that they should. In his majority opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia explicitly endorsed the wisdom of keeping... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
80 Americans Die Every Day by Gunshot: 'This Ruling Won't Change That'
Boston Globe, Editorial
27 June 2008
The US Supreme Court has ended 69 years of speculation and ruled that the Second Amendment to the Constitution confers an individual right of Americans to own and use guns. To arrive at this decision, the court performed a grammatical parsing that would confound the best English teacher, deciding that the first 13 words are merely "prefatory" to the "operative clause" of the one-sentence amendment, thus conveniently tossing aside the importance... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
America's Gun Control Advocates Aren't Done by a Long Shot
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
27 June 2008
The Supreme Court's decision in the District of Columbia vs. Heller case settles a long, heated debate, finding the 2nd Amendment protects an individual right to own weapons for self-defense -- not merely a right related to membership in a "well-regulated militia." But the ruling doesn't end the struggle over gun control, nor does it mean gun regulations have been eliminated. The court lists a number of laws the decision does not... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Close US Gun Show Loophole, Tighten Background Checks - Obama
Sydney Morning Herald
27 June 2008
American mayors and legislators are closely studying today's Supreme Court ruling which clarifies the constitutional right of an individual to have a gun and may make many cities' gun control efforts invalid.. The 5-4 landmark ruling is the first time the Supreme Court has clarified what the second amendment means. The majority concluded that the "right to bear arms" extends to the individual, not just the rights of states to maintain... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Conservatives Could Now Find it Harder to Whip Up US Election Gun Fear
Salon (USA), Web Page
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- "God, gays and guns" have been pretty good to Republicans over the last few campaigns. The Karl Rove playbook says not to worry if the war in Iraq has been a disaster or the economy is tanking -- just fire away at your opponent's liberal views on a few wedge issues and then waltz your way into Washington. To listen to John McCain's campaign, Thursday's 5-to-4 landmark Supreme Court ruling overturning a law banning... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Gun Ban Majority and Dissent Both Clearly Wrong: Nothing Is Clear
FindLaw (USA)
27 June 2008
Before adjourning for the summer yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled, 5-4, that the Second Amendment protects a personal right to possess firearms for, among other purposes, self-defense. Accordingly, in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Court invalidated a D.C. law that bans private handgun possession and requires long guns (rifles and shotguns) to be stored either disassembled or under trigger lock. The majority opinion by Justice... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Prepares Licensing, Registration: 'Strictest Handgun Laws Allowed'
Washington Post
27 June 2008
Thirty-two years after enacting the nation's toughest restrictions on firearms ownership, the D.C. government suddenly faces a new reality, forced by the U.S. Supreme Court to draft regulations that will permit city residents to keep weapons, including handguns, readily available in their homes. "I am disappointed in the court's ruling and believe that more handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence,"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Despite High Court's 'Misguided Ruling,' DC May Have Some Gun Options
Washington Post, Editorial
27 June 2008
It is deeply disappointing, though not surprising, that the Supreme Court yesterday struck down the District's gun laws after finding that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. Writing for the four justices in dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens offered a persuasive case that the Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms only in relation to service in a state militia. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Debate Pushed Back to the Forefront of America's Political Agenda
Washington Post
27 June 2008
With yesterday's decision, the Supreme Court pushed the gun issue back to the forefront of the nation's agenda, opening a new chapter in what has been one of the most contentious and divisive debates in American politics for the past four decades. Advocacy groups braced for new skirmishes, both in courts and in legislatures. Gun rights advocates, hailing what they called a historic milestone, immediately targeted other jurisdictions... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Law: Conservative US Justices Are Activists If it Serves Their Politics
Los Angeles Times, Opinion
27 June 2008
The Supreme Court's invalidation of the District of Columbia's handgun ban powerfully shows that the conservative rhetoric about judicial restraint is a lie. In striking down the law, Justice Antonin Scalia's majority opinion, joined by the court's four other most conservative justices, is quite activist in pursuing the conservative political agenda of protecting gun owners. If the terms "judicial activism" and "judicial restraint"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Law Decision 'Frightening,' Chicago Mayor Braces for NRA Attack
New York Times
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Gun-control advocates across the country reacted with shock and outrage at the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns today, saying the ruling would threaten gun-control measures in other states. If there was any doubt that other bans would be in peril, the National Rifle Association quickly put those questions to rest when it announced shortly after the ruling that it would... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Licensing, Registration, Background Checks OK - US High Court
USA Today, Editorial
27 June 2008
On hot-button cultural issues, the Supreme Court typically doesn't stray far from public opinion. So that's where the court found itself Thursday with its landmark Second Amendment ruling, right where the majority of Americans are on the issue: for gun ownership, but with limits. The court straddled that line. It said for the first time that the Constitution bars "the absolute prohibition of handguns held and used for self-defense... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Ruling Reverberates in Presidential Campaign - McCain, Obama
Chicago Tribune
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Democrat Barack Obama offered a guarded response Thursday to the Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia's prohibition on handguns and sidestepped providing a view on the 32-year-old local gun ban, leading Republican rival John McCain's campaign to accuse him of an "incredible flip-flop" on gun control. Obama issued a carefully worded written statement that applauded the court for providing "much-needed... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Historic 5 to 4 Supreme Court Decision Enshrines American Gun Rights
Christian Science Monitor
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Americans have an individual right to possess and use firearms, even when the guns are not related to service in a government militia. In a historic ruling, the US Supreme Court on Thursday declared 5 to 4 that the Second Amendment's guarantee of a right to "keep and bear arms" means that the government cannot enact an outright ban on certain commonly held weapons or otherwise prevent citizens from having a gun at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
McCain Launches Anti-Obama Broadside Over 'Sacred' Right to Guns
Agence France Presse
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Republican John McCain opened fire with a full-bore political attack on Democratic White House rival Barack Obama after the Supreme Court upheld individuals' right to bear arms Thursday. McCain, bidding to taint Obama's candidacy among gun-owners and rural voters, used the historic ruling to highlight how the Democrat's view of the US constitution's second amendment on gun rights had evolved down the years. But... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
NRA Sues to Overturn Ban on Guns in San Francisco City Housing
Associated Press
27 June 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- The National Rifle Association sued the city of San Francisco on Friday to overturn its ban on handguns in public housing, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in the nation's capital. The legal action follows a similar lawsuit against the city of Chicago over its handgun ban, filed within hours of Thursday's high court ruling. In San Francisco, the NRA was joined by the Washington... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Political Impact of Gun Ruling on US Election Politics 'Has Been Immediate'
BBC News
27 June 2008
The Supreme Court's decision to overturn the Washington DC handgun ban is likely to have legal and political consequences. The legal ones are not yet clear. Much depends on whether this federal ruling is seen as applying to other states or cities, which have similarly tough gun laws. In his majority brief, Justice Antonin Scalia predicted future, complex legal arguments about some of the restrictions, which the court had... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Pundits Say US Supreme Court Made Gun Control an Election Non-issue
New York Magazine
27 June 2008
What were the candidates' reactions to yesterday's landmark decision on gun rights by the Supreme Court? John McCain supported it, and Barack Obama... kind of supported it. There's a paper trail suggesting Obama was for the D.C. ban, but yesterday he claimed to have "always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms" -- while also seeing the need for "common-sense, effective safety measures"... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Repeal the 2nd Amendment - for Chicago, it's an Anachronism
Chicago Tribune, Editorial
27 June 2008
No, we don't suppose that's going to happen any time soon. But it should. The 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is evidence that, while the founding fathers were brilliant men, they could have used an editor. "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." If the founders had limited themselves to the final... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Residents of Washington DC Hate, Love Supreme Court Ruling
Washington Post
27 June 2008
Gun control, for many D.C. residents, has always been more personal than ideological, regardless of where they stand on the issue. Take Maurice Benton, who hates yesterday's Supreme Court decision, and Sandra Seegars, who loves it. Each lives in a Southeast Washington community -- he in Barry Farm, she in Congress Park -- where it's difficult to find someone who doesn't know someone who has been shot or robbed at gunpoint. ... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Gun Ban Veto Triggers Review of Massachusetts Law
Boston Herald
27 June 2008
Yesterday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns will force Massachusetts officials to review the state's gun laws, long considered among the toughest in the nation. In the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights, the court ruled 5-4 that Washington's ban was incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Justices 'Went Head to Head' in Narrow 5-4 Gun Opinion
New York Times
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Thursday embraced the long-disputed view that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own a gun for personal use, ruling 5 to 4 that there is a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self-defense. The landmark ruling overturned the District of Columbia ban on handguns, the strictest gun-control law in the country, and appeared certain to usher in a new round of litigation... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US 2nd Amendment 'Came Within Single Vote of Becoming Dead Letter'
Wall Street Journal, Editorial
27 June 2008
The 2008 Supreme Court term ended with a bang yesterday as the Justices issued their most important ruling ever in upholding an individual right to bear arms. The dismaying surprise is that the Second Amendment came within a single vote of becoming a dead Constitutional letter. That's the larger meaning of yesterday's landmark 5-4 ruling in D.C. v. Heller, the first gun control case to come before the Court in 70 years. Richard... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Court 'Unwisely Opens Door to Legal Attacks on Effective Gun Control'
Los Angeles Times, Column
27 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for the first time that the 2nd Amendment explicitly protects Americans' right to own guns for self-defense -- resolving one of the Constitution's oldest disputes and reviving the debate over gun rights, crime and violence. The landmark decision struck down a District of Columbia ordinance, the strictest in the nation, that barred homeowners from keeping handguns. The ruling brought... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Boss Warns: 'Monumental Decision Just Opening Salvo'
USA Today, Opinion
27 June 2008
The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm for any lawful purpose. Period. The Founding Fathers meant it, 4 million NRA members defend it, and the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed it. For three decades, lawful residents of the District of Columbia had no right to possess a handgun in their own homes. Today, they do. That's a good thing, because good people should be able to protect themselves, especially... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US High Court Decision Means 'Rethinking Local Gun Control Laws'
Daily American (Illinois) / Gatehouse News
27 June 2008
SPRINGFIELD, Illinois -- A U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the District of Columbia's handgun ban won't have a direct, immediate effect on existing gun-control laws in Illinois, according to legal experts. But the high court's ruling could affect what happens here in the future when state and local officials grapple with restrictions on guns. "When you see the gnashing of teeth by the anti-gun types, there's a good... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Justice Fears 'Unknown Number of Dominoes' to Fall in Gun Control
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Editorial
27 June 2008
Few sentences in the English language have been parsed more intently than "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." On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court settled the argument over the definition of the Second Amendment, ruling that the right to bear arms extends beyond states to individual gun owners. Written by the Founding... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Republicans, NRA Vow to Make Gun Rights a Defining Election Issue
The Hill (Washington DC)
27 June 2008
Republicans believe Thursday's Supreme Court ruling striking down Washington D.C.'s handgun ban has revived gun rights as a campaign issue, benefiting the GOP up and down the November ticket. "The gun issue is not going away," said Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the Republican presidential candidate. "We are going to drive it. We are going to keep talking about this issue." Republicans will be... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Ensures Even More Americans Will Die by Gunshot
New York Times, Editorial
27 June 2008
Thirty-thousand Americans are killed by guns every year -- on the job, walking to school, at the shopping mall. The Supreme Court on Thursday all but ensured that even more Americans will die senselessly with its wrongheaded and dangerous ruling striking down key parts of the District of Columbia's gun-control law. In a radical break from 70 years of Supreme Court precedent, Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the majority, declared... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court Ideology 'Wiped Away Years of Lower Court Decisions'
Washington Post
27 June 2008
The Supreme Court struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handgun possession yesterday and decided for the first time in the nation's history that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual's right to own a gun for self-defense. The court's landmark 5 to 4 decision split along ideological grounds and wiped away years of lower court decisions that had held that the intent of the amendment, ratified more than 200 years ago,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Wilmette, Illinois Suspends Enforcement of 19yr-old Town Handgun Ban
Pioneer Press (Illinois)
27 June 2008
Wilmette has suspended enforcement of its 19-year-old ordinance banning handgun possession in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that appears to invalidate such bans. In a 5-4 decision, the court's majority struck down Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns, a prohibition similar to those used in several major cities, including Chicago, and a handful of suburbs including Wilmette, Evanston, Winnetka and Oak Park. "The... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
American 'Gun Rights' Celebration Obscures Nuanced Legal Decision
Time (USA)
26 June 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 decision overturning Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban is the biggest gun rights ruling since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791. The Court had not waded into this divisive issue since 1939, when it declared, "We cannot say that the Second Amendment guarantees the right to keep and bear" arms. But on Thursday the Court broke its silence to do just that, ruling for the first time that the Constitution confers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Americans Brace for Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Bear Arms
Washington Post
26 June 2008
With its term coming to an end, the U.S. Supreme Court this morning is expected to issue its ruling on the District's handgun-ownership ban in a case that could result in a landmark interpretation of the Second Amendment. In District of Columbia v. Heller, the city is challenging an appellate ruling that its 32-year-old handgun ban is unconstitutional. Advocates on both sides of the gun control debate have been bracing for the decision... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
'Dangerous and Unusual' Guns Can Still Be Controlled in America
Economist
26 June 2008
After 217 years, the Supreme Court appears at last to have settled one of the most hotly disputed questions in American constitutional law: who has the right to pack heat? The second amendment says: "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 odd punctuation makes it unclear what this means. Can anyone own a gun, or only those who... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, World
DC Gun Law Voided: Individual Gun Right, Self Defence 'In the Home' OK
Associated Press
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court says Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history. The court's 5-4 ruling strikes down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision goes further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Gun Ruling: Conservative Majority Threw Originalism Out the Window
Washington Post, Column
26 June 2008
In knocking down the District's 32-year-old ban on handgun possession, the conservatives on the Supreme Court have again shown their willingness to abandon precedent in order to do whatever is necessary to further the agenda of the contemporary political right. The court's five most conservative members have demonstrated that for all of Justice Antonin Scalia's talk about "originalism" as a coherent constitutional doctrine, those... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
DC Handgun Ruling Could Spark Challenges to Gun Control Across US
BBC News
26 June 2008
The US Supreme Court is expected to deliver a ruling shortly that could have a far-reaching effect on gun control laws in the United States. The nine justices have been considering whether a 32-year-old ban on handguns in Washington DC is unconstitutional. It is the first time in nearly 70 years that Americans' right to keep and bear arms, set out in the US Constitution, has been considered by the court. Debate... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Factbox: US Capital's Strict Gun-control Law Struck Down
Reuters
26 June 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, for the first time in the country's history, that individual Americans have the right to own guns for personal use, and struck down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital, Washington. Following are some facts about the case. - It marks the first time in nearly 70 years that the Supreme Court has taken up the meaning of the Second Amendment, the portion of the U.S. Constitution... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Lobby Immediately Launches Challenge to San Francisco Gun Law
Los Angeles Times
26 June 2008
Emboldened by today's U.S. Supreme Court ruling affirming an individual's right to possess a firearm, gun advocates said they would immediately challenge a San Francisco law that prohibits guns in public housing. The lawsuit, which the National Rifle Assn. said it would file Friday, was one of several legal challenges gun groups said they would file around the country to enforce the court decision and determine its scope. "I... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, World
High Court Strikes Down Washington DC Gun Ban as 'Unconstitutional'
CNN
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Washington D.C.'s sweeping ban on handguns is unconstitutional. The justices voted 5-4 against the ban with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion for the majority. At issue in District of Columbia v. Heller was whether the city's ban violated the Second Amendment right to "keep and bear arms" by preventing individuals -- as opposed to state militias -- from having... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Illinois Lawmakers: DC Ruling Makes it Tougher to Pass Gun Restrictions
Chicago Tribune / Clout Street, Web Page
26 June 2008
State lawmakers said Thursday the Supreme Court opinion on gun control is likely to prompt a flurry of legislation in Springfield but at the same time will make it harder for any new gun restrictions to pass. Even before the decision, lawmakers struggled to find votes for bills aimed at reducing gun violence. Since 2004, when Congress allowed a 10-year federal ban on assault weapons to expire, lawmakers have been unable to muster... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
In Election Run-up, Obama Moves His Gun Control Views to the Centre
Time (USA)
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- When the Supreme Court issues rulings on hot-button issues like gun control and the death penalty in the middle of a presidential campaign, Republicans could be excused for thinking they'll have the perfect opportunity to paint their Democratic opponent as an out-of-touch social liberal. But while Barack Obama may be ranked as one of the Senate's most liberal members, his reactions to this week's controversial court decisions... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
New Jersey's Tough Gun Laws 'Not Threatened' by High Court Ruling
Newsday (New York) / AP
26 June 2008
NEWARK, New Jersey -- The New Jersey attorney general and a gun control advocate said the state's tough firearms laws are not threatened by Thursday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia. "We believe the court affirmed the right of states to regulate gun ownership to protect public safety and endorsed commonsense licensing of firearms and concealed-weapons restrictions like we have... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama Joins Wide Range of Reaction to American Gun Law Decision
Bloomberg (USA)
26 June 2008
A divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled for the first time that the Constitution protects individual gun rights, striking down the District of Columbia's handgun ban and raising questions about weapons restrictions elsewhere. The 5-4 ruling resolves a constitutional question that had lurked for two centuries: whether the Second Amendment covers people who aren't affiliated with a state-run militia. "The enshrinement of constitutional... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Reported Gun Control Positions of US Presidential Candidates
Reuters
26 June 2008
The Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday that Americans have the right to own guns for personal use could become an issue in the U.S. presidential race. Here are the positions of the two candidates in November's election: DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE SEN. BARACK OBAMA Wants tighter background checks on gun buyers, making gun locks mandatory and holding parents criminally responsible for children who injure someone with a... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
San Francisco, California Brace for Legal Challenges to Their Gun Laws
San Francisco Chronicle
26 June 2008
SAN FRANCISCO -- Americans have a constitutional right to own guns, the Supreme Court declared Thursday in a ruling that resoundingly endorsed the ability of an armed populace to resist tyranny but appeared to allow bans on military-style weapons and regulations on other firearms. The National Rifle Association immediately said it would use the ruling for a new round of legal challenges to gun-control laws, including a ban on handgun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Handgun Ruling Could Weaken Chicago's Gun Ban
CBS2 TV News (Chicago) / AP
26 June 2008
CHICAGO -- Chicago officials will be watching the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday as the justices issue their ruling on a Second Amendment challenge to the gun ban in Washington, D.C. As CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, the decision Thursday could yield the first concrete definition of the meaning of the Second Amendment in the Supreme Court's 216 years. The decision Thursday could have effects across the country, including in... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Court Ruling 'Clear Victory for Gun Advocates,' But Debate Rages On
US News & World Report
26 June 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling today upholding an individual right to bear arms is a clear victory for gun advocates. But the court's divided decision is unlikely to end debate over myriad other gun control proposals across the country. In a 5-to-4 decision, the majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia, held for the first time that the Constitution provides an individual right to bear arms, such as for self-defense,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Lobby Moves to Strike Weapon Bans in San Francisco, Chicago
Associated Press
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a constitutional right to keep guns in their homes for self-defense, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun control in U.S. history. 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 decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Gun Makers Hail 'Moral Victory for Beleaguered Industry, Gun Owners'
Boston Globe / AP
26 June 2008
HARTFORD, Connecticut -- New England's prominent gun makers said Thursday's landmark Supreme Court ruling that affirms the right to keep guns at home for self-defense is a moral victory for their beleaguered industry and law-abiding gun owners. The 5-4 ruling affirms gun ownership at home as an individual right for self-defense. It overturned a 32-year-old ban in the District of Columbia, letting governments continue to set rules... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Mayors Vow to Uphold Gun Controls Despite Supreme Court Ruling
Associated Press
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Washington's blanket ban on handguns will fall and tight gun laws in places like Chicago and San Francisco are sure to come under attack. But most of the nation's firearms regulations will probably stay on the books, and some politicians said Thursday's Supreme Court decision won't hinder their efforts to prevent bloodshed. The high court struck down the District of Columbia's ban on handguns, ruling that Americans... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Right to Own Guns Remains Subject to 'Reasonable Limitations'
Dallas Morning News (Texas)
26 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court tossed out a handgun ban in the nation's capital on Thursday, holding for the first time that the Second Amendment does protect an individual right to self-defense and gun ownership. But in its first hard look at gun rights in nearly 70 years, the court also held -- in a narrow, 5-4 ruling -- that the right is subject to some reasonable limitations. "Like most rights, the Second Amendment... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Washington DC's Handgun Ban Prevents Training of Security Guards
Washington Post, Column
26 June 2008
Allan Lucas discovered his passion nearly four decades ago, in the Marine Corps. Assigned to target practice at the range, he suddenly realized that everyone else had stopped shooting their M-14s. "It gets real quiet and I'm the only one shooting, and the general and the corporal are watching me," Lucas remembers. "I'm building a little circle of holes around the bull's-eye." During a 30-plus-year career with D.C. police, the U.S.... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Handgun Bans Don't Cut Crime: Gun Death, Injury Rose 340% in Britain
National Post (Toronto), Opinion
25 June 2008
Banning handguns is all the rage. Mayor David Miller's push for a national ban has been joined by other Canadian big-city mayors. Yet, dissatisfied with progress at the national level, Miller successfully asked city council this week to approve measures to further discourage gun ownership in Toronto, such as shutting down city-owned gun ranges. While it may seem obvious to many people that banning handguns will save lives and cut... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, World
Supreme Court Heller Decision Due 10am Thursday US Eastern
SCOTUSBlog (Washington DC), Blog
25 June 2008
At the close of Wednesday's public session, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., announced that the Court will issue all remaining decisions for the Term at 10 a.m. Thursday. The test case on whether the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a gun is among those remaining (District of Columbia v. Heller, 07-290). For instant analysis, live from the Supreme Court, go to: http://www.scotusblog.com/wp/liveblog-opinions-62508/ ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Poised to Rule on 'Highly Emotional Issue' - US Gun Laws
Agence France Presse
25 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- The US Supreme Court was expected to rule Thursday for the first time in seven decades on the highly emotional issue of the constitutional right to bear arms. The court's decision -- on whether the right to keep and bear arms is fundamentally an individual or collective right -- is expected to have a far reaching impact on US gun control laws, experts say. The high court has never before issued a ruling on... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Moderate US Hunter-shooter Lobby Joins NRA in Opposing DC Gun Ban
New West (Montana)
24 June 2008
Even when you're the biggest and toughest of them all there's always somebody there to challenge you, as the National Rifle Association (NRA) has learned. The NRA's two-year-old nemesis, the American Hunters and Shooters Association (ASHA) just won't go away. "I'm here to tell you we're alive and well and plan to continue being a viable alternative to the NRA," announced AHSA President Ray Schoenke at a news conference at the annual... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Both Sides Await US Supreme Court Ruling on Right to Bear Arms
News & Observer (North Carolina)
23 June 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court is on the brink of issuing what could be its most important ruling ever on the controversial Second Amendment right to bear arms. Gun rights and gun control advocates alike are anxiously awaiting the high court's ruling, the first time since 1939 that the nation's top justices have tackled the Second Amendment. A decision could come this week. "I feel the founding fathers gave us this right," said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Death and Gun Control: US Big-city Mayors Brace for DC Gun Ruling
Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Georgia), Editorial
23 June 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to soon issue a ruling in the Washington, D.C. gun case and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin worries that cities may be hampered in their crime-fighting efforts if the justices strike down the D.C. gun control laws. "If the justices agree with the lower court's ruling, cities and states throughout the country may face challenge after challenge to the constitutionality of firearm regulations enacted... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Out-of-state No-shows Hold 1 in 3 of Utah's Hidden Handgun Permits
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah), Editorial
23 June 2008
There's a gunfight shaping up in the Utah Legislature. Gun advocates who want Utah to continue to arm the nation versus government bureaucrats and gun-control advocates who see the dangers in Utah's permissive concealed-carry permitting system. Utah permits are the Tootsie Pops of concealed-carry permits: easily obtained, inexpensive, long-lasting and unhealthy, for Utahns and the nation as a whole. More than a third of Utah's 100,000-plus... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
In Chicago, Only Politicians and Criminals Are Allowed to Carry Guns
Chicago Tribune, Column
20 June 2008
That Washington, D.C., gun ban that the Supreme Court should toss out any day now because it is unconstitutional is often compared to the handgun ban in Chicago. But what's not often reported by the decidedly pro-gun-control media is that since Chicago's anti-handgun law went into effect in 1982, only two classes of people have had ready access to firearms: The criminals. And the politicians. Cynics who scoff at... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Ruling on DC Could Threaten New York Gun Control Law
New York Sun
19 June 2008
If gun enthusiasts are victorious this month when the Supreme Court declares what rights exist under the Second Amendment, their next target may be New York City's strict gun control laws. The federal high court may issue its historic decision on gun rights as early as today, and certainly by no later than month's end. Obtaining a gun license in New York City is now a lengthy and costly endeavor. In the span of a decade,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
US Supreme Court to Decide on DC Gun Ban - National Public Radio Q&A
National Public Radio (USA) / AP, Web Page
18 June 2008
In its first comprehensive look at the Second Amendment right to bear arms, the Supreme Court is expected to rule on the constitutionality of Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns. The District of Columbia's ban is considered the nation's strictest gun-control law. A ruling by the court to strike it down could threaten other gun-control measures across the country, including laws that ban machine guns or assault weapons. Although... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Utah Lobbyists Wear Loaded Guns, Complain Police Stop Them on Street
Salt Lake Tribune (Utah)
18 June 2008
WEST VALLEY CITY -- With his Smith & Wesson .40-caliber semi-automatic holstered on his right hip, Travis Deveraux addressed the mayor and City Council on Tuesday. Deveraux says he has been harassed by West Valley City police for carrying that gun and treated like a criminal. "A criminal does not want [police] attention, and they will not openly carry a gun," Deveraux said. With 10 other gun-toting civilians --... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Control Looms as Biggest Immediate Issue for US Supreme Court
Associated Press
15 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- One momentous case down, another equally historic decision to go. The Supreme Court returns to the bench Monday with 17 cases still unresolved, including its first-ever comprehensive look at the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. The guns case -- including Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns -- is widely expected to be a victory for supporters of gun rights. Top officials of a national gun control organization said... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Canadians Watch Closely As US Court Ponders Right to Possess Guns
Toronto Star (Ontario)
14 June 2008
As Mayor David Miller and provincial leaders urge Ottawa to outlaw handguns, Americans are waiting to see if the United States Supreme Court will shoot down one of that country's strictest gun control laws. The court is expected to deliver its judgment this month in the case known as Columbia v. Heller, which challenges the District of Columbia's ban on private handgun possession. At the forefront of the challenge are six individuals,... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Gun Control 'Removed from US Agenda:' NRA's Political Clout is Waning
Los Angeles Times
14 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- Eight years after a national debate over gun control helped keep Democrat Al Gore out of the White House, the National Rifle Assn. and its Republican allies are launching a new campaign to defeat Barack Obama. But this time, the issue that GOP strategists once relied on to provide crucial votes in close elections has lost much of its political punch. Congress hasn't passed major legislation to restrict gun... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Supreme Court Gun Ban Ruling Could Help Define US Presidential Race
Sydney Morning Herald
14 June 2008
NEW YORK -- One month after the Californian Supreme Court made gay marriage a potential presidential election issue by legalising same-sex unions, the US Supreme Court may be about to do the same for gun laws. Not since 1939 has the court considered the meaning of the contentious Second Amendment to the Constitution, which pro-gun activists claim confers on Americans the right to bear arms. Gun-control advocates, working... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
UN Gun Control Boss Braces for Loss in Supreme Court, New Strategies
ABC News (USA)
12 June 2008
The nation's leading gun control group filed a "friend of the court" brief back in January defending the gun ban in Washington, D.C. But with the Supreme Court poised to hand down a potentially landmark decision in the case, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence fully expects to lose. "We've lost the battle on what the Second Amendment means," campaign president Paul Helmke told ABC News. "Seventy-five percent of the public... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Ohio 'Shoot First' Law Permits Gun Owners to Fire, Injure, Kill if Fearful
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
10 June 2008
Over the objections of law enforcement groups, Gov. Ted Strickland today signed into law a bill that relaxes certain gun restrictions and establishes a new "castle doctrine" for shooting an intruder in self-defense. The legislation, Senate Bill 184, takes effect in 90 days. It was backed by the National Rifle Association to establish a presumption that a person acted in self-defense when shooting someone who unlawfully... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States, Mexico
US Fuels, Fights Gun-led Insurrection in Mexico, Fosters Chaos at Home
Huffington Post (USA), Blog
10 June 2008
In towns along the United States-Mexico border, a battle is raging between drug cartels and the Mexican government that has left thousands of innocent civilians and Mexican police officials dead. A galvanizing moment occurred on May 8, when assassins shot and killed Edgar Gomez, Mexico's top cop and an anti-cartel crusader, as he exited his home north of Mexico City. Gomez is just one of 6,000 Mexican government officials and police officers... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
American Gun Owners Call for Loaded Handguns to Be Worn Openly
Telegraph (UK)
9 June 2008
NEW YORK -- A growing number of Americans are exercising their right not just to own guns but to carry them around in public. As a debate continues in Washington over the constitutional right to gun ownership, supporters of the so-called "open carry" movement argue that sidearms should be precisely that -- a common accessory to be worn freely. Their right to wear their gun, usually on a holster at their hip, as they go... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Fledgling US Movement Urges Gun Owners to Openly Carry Handguns
Los Angeles Times
7 June 2008
PROVO, Utah -- For years, Kevin Jensen carried a pistol everywhere he went, tucked in a shoulder holster beneath his clothes. In hot weather the holster was almost unbearable. Pressed against Jensen's skin, the firearm was heavy and uncomfortable. Hiding the weapon made him feel like a criminal. Then one evening he stumbled across a site that urged gun owners to do something revolutionary: Carry your gun openly for the... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Licensed Shooter Prompts Seattle to Clamp Down on Hidden Handguns
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Washington)
6 June 2008
Two weeks after a shooting at Seattle's Northwest Folklife Festival, Mayor Greg Nickels reportedly plans to announce restrictions Monday on concealed weapons on city property. Nickels' office declined to offer any details about the executive order. A news conference was scheduled at the Police Department with Nickels, Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske and state legislators. In a news release, the initiative was described as... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Hunters, Shooters, Pols Tell NRA to 'Back Off' on New South Carolina Law
Associated Press
3 June 2008
COLUMBIA, South Carolina -- Many of the Legislature's most fervent gun enthusiasts asked the National Rifle Association on Tuesday to stop opposing a hunting and fishing proposal and allow it to pass this year. "We ask the NRA to back off," said Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Clinton, an avid hunter and chairman of the House Sportsman's Caucus. Members of the House and Senate Sportsman's Caucuses said a proposed amendment to the state... ( gunpolicy.org )
United States
Obama, McCain on Gun Control, Gun Shows and Banning Assault Weapons
Associated Press
3 June 2008
WASHINGTON -- A look at where Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain stand on a selection of issues as they go head-to-head for the presidency: ... GUN CONTROL McCain: Voted against ban on assault-type weapons but in favor of requiring background checks at gun shows. Voted to shield gun-makers and dealers from civil suits. "I believe the Second Amendment ought to be preserved -- which means no gun control."... ( gunpolicy.org )
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