A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court suggested Tuesday that the Constitution provides individuals the right to keep and bear arms, and that D.C.’s handgun ban may be overly restrictive of that right.
But while questioning lawyers who argued the issue, some justices appeared ready to affirm a state’s right to strictly regulate guns.
During 97 minutes of oral arguments over whether the District’s outright ban on handguns violates the Second Amendment to the Constitution, justices seemed to tilt toward recognizing the right to have a gun in the home.
“What is reasonable about a ban on possession?” Chief Justice John Roberts asked.
But Justice Stephen Breyer said the Constitution’s framers appeared to “give leeway to the cities and states to work out what’s reasonable in light of their problems.” That would include D.C.’s right to take drastic measures to address its high crime rate.
At the heart of the case, District of Columbia v. Heller, is how modern America must interpret the 18th-century words: “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.”
Dick Anthony Heller, a security guard and D.C. resident, sued the District over its handgun ban after it refused his request for a firearm license. A lower court ruled last year that the restrictions are unconstitutional, setting up the landmark Supreme Court case. The court is expected to issue a decision in June.
The murky matter of the Second Amendment’s meaning has not been considered by the high court in 70 years.
Justice Anthony Kennedy acknowledged a “general right to bear arms quite without reference to the militia either way.” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg backed individual rights within reason, saying the District already provides for thelicensing and registration of gun owners.
“My read of it is that there’s certainly a majority there that’s supportive of the individual rights view,” said Robert Cottrol, a law professor at George Washington University. “It’s going to come down to what constitutes reasonable regulation.”
The sparring legal teams and their supporters each put a final spin on events to reporters after the arguments.
Alan Gura, representing Heller, argued the District’s law is “unreasonable and it fails any standard that may be offered.”
Mayor Adrian Fenty, meanwhile, praised his legal team and warned that more guns “anywhere in the District of Columbia is going to lead to more crime.”
