In its second major ruling on gun rights in three years, the Supreme Court has extended the federally protected right to keep and bear arms to all 50 states. The decision is a victory for all American citizens who believe the Second Amendment is an individual right and a freedom worth defending.
Part of the five-justice majority, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: "the right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner."
The ruling builds upon the Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller that invalidated the handgun ban in the nation's capital. More importantly, that decision held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was a right our country’s founding fathers specifically delegated to individuals. The justices affirmed that decision and extended its reach to the 50 states. The ruling also invalidates Chicago's handgun ban, which was brought to the High Court as McDonald v. City of Chicago.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPeirre commented that the Supreme Court has affirmed that law-abiding men and women can buy and own firearms.
“This decision cannot lead to different measures of freedom, depending on what part of the country you live in,” wrote LaPierre in his online commentary. “City by city, person by person, this decision must be more than a philosophical victory. An individual right is no right at all if individuals can't access it. Proof of Heller and McDonald will be law abiding citizens, one by one, purchasing and owning firearms.”
