Gun ruling to spark legal battles nationwide

McCain, Obama spar over ruling
The ruling quickly became fodder for the presidential race. Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican nominee, called it a “landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States.”

McCain criticized Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, the Democratic nominee, for refusing to sign a statement calling for Thursday’s ruling.

“Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today’s ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right — sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly,” McCain said.

Obama said the decision “will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.”

“As president, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters and sportsmen,” Obama said. “We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals.”

Dissenters vs. supporters
The issue had caused a split within the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney supported the appeals court ruling, but others in the administration feared it could lead to the undoing of other gun regulations, including a federal law restricting sales of machine guns. Other laws keep felons from buying guns and provide for an instant background check.

The administration’s divisions mirrored those of the closely divided court.

In a concluding paragraph to his 64-page opinion, Scalia said the justices in the majority “are aware of the problem of handgun violence in this country” and believe the Constitution “leaves the District of Columbia a variety of tools for combating that problem, including some measures regulating handguns.”

But in a separate dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote, “In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas.”

Joining Scalia were Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The other dissenters were Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter.

The last Supreme Court ruling on the topic came in 1939 in U.S. v. Miller, which involved a sawed-off shotgun. Constitutional scholars disagree over what that case means but agree it did not squarely answer the question of individual versus collective rights.

Forty-four state constitutions include some form of gun rights, which are not affected by the court’s consideration of Washington’s restrictions.

The case is District of Columbia v. Heller, 07-290.

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