Gun Control
On the date November 20, 2007 the Supreme Court decided to hear the Gun Control Case. They would decide whether or not the Constitution grated individuals the right to keep guns in their hoes for private use. The court accepted the case on the District of Columbia’s 31 year old prohibition on the ownership of hand guns. The federal appeals court having examined the issue over the decades, ruled in March 2007 that the right of the Second Amendment to the Constitution was an individual one, not just one that is tied to the militia. This made the District of Columbia’s ban on handguns unconstitutional. The reason that the Supreme Court is hearing this case is because a Lawyer named Robert A. Levy financed a lawsuit for the purpose of getting a Second Amendment case before the Supreme Court. One of the six plaintiffs was Mr. Heller. Mr. Heller was a security officer who carries a gun while he is on duty guarding the federal building that houses the administrative offices. He wants to be able to keep his gun at home so he can use it for self defense rather than leaving it at work where its no real use to him after work.
The last time that the Supreme Court looked and the Second Amendment was nearly 70 years ago in the court case United States vs. Miller. Even then the Supreme Court did not make a clear decision. They hinted at that the right should be understood in connection with service in a militia. None of the justices on the court at that time had ever confronted a Second Amendment case. Of all of the gun regulations in all of the states the one in the District of Columbia is generally regarded as the strictest. The District of Columbia not only forbids the ownership of handguns but it requires other guns such as rifles and shotguns to be legally kept in the home must be disassembled or kept under trigger lock.
The author, Linda Greenhouse is writing this article to inform the general public about the Supreme Court deciding to...