US: Case challenging ban on private handgun ownership

[Stark]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A case challenging the ban on private handgun ownership in the U.S. capital could lead to the first ruling by the Supreme Court since 1939 on the rights of Americans to bear arms.

Officials from the District of Columbia government this week asked the high court to agree the city's 31-year-old law banning private possession of handguns is constitutional.

Supporters and opponents of the law said the case could have far-reaching legal and political importance in affecting the nation's gun laws.

D.C. officials said a U.S. appeals court was wrong in its precedent-setting ruling in March that broadly interpreted an individual's constitutional right under the Second Amendment to bear arms, and that concluded the law violated those rights.

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."

City lawyers have argued the amendment guarantees the right to bear arms only for members of a militia, like today's National Guard, and not for individuals.

But the appeals court adopted the position that the Bush administration has advocated previously -- that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to keep and bear arms.

"This has the potential to be the most significant ruling ever on the Second Amendment," said Paul Helmke, president of Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. He said the case also could be significant in the political debate leading up to next year's elections.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on the scope of the Second Amendment since a decision 68 years ago when it upheld a federal gun control law but did not definitively resolve the constitutional issue.

In appealing to the Supreme Court, District of Columbia Attorney General Linda Singer said the March ruling marked the first time a federal appeals court has invoked the Second Amendment to strike down a gun-control law.

NO VIOLATION OF RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

"A law that bans handguns but permits private ownership of rifles and shotguns does not deprive anyone of the right to keep and bear arms, however that right is construed," she said.

Singer said the nation's three largest cities -- New York, Chicago and Los Angeles -- have laws banning handguns or tightly regulating their possession and use, that states have adopted various measures and a number of nations have banned handguns or grant permits in only exceptional cases.

"Whatever right the Second Amendment guarantees, it does not require the district to stand by while its citizens die," she said.

Six residents brought the challenge to the city's law, one of the strictest in the nation. One of their lawyers, Robert Levy of the Cato Institute, said they also would urge the Supreme Court to review the case.

He said those challenging the law seek a broader ruling from the Supreme Court, one that could apply nationwide and not just in Washington.

If the justices agree to decide the case, arguments most likely would be scheduled for next year, with a ruling expected by the end of June.

Trust me guys it's for your own good, you are the most heavily armed country in the world counted by citicens and you clearly showed that you unable to live with this huge responsiblity.

[WOOO]

Trust me guys it's for your own good, you are the most heavily armed country in the world counted by citicens and you clearly showed that you unable to live with this huge responsiblity.

not even close, there are dozens of countries in which the common man has more access to weapons

[Stark]

not even close, there are dozens of countries in which the common man has more access to weapons

Nope you are wrong, if jsut read it yesterday in the times magazine... US is the most hevily armed country in the world and we are talking guns in the hands of citizen... guess who was second... yep India.

[benchmstr]

hahaha i just got 6 new guns this week,2 of which were handguns.but i use them for work so even if it does pass(it wont)i still get to keep mine.

bench

[2ND COMING]

not even close, there are dozens of countries in which the common man has more access to weapons

haha , new york times?you pitiful clueles sheep.

[freespirit]

I live in the Netherlands and I wish I owned a handgun. Just to protect my home.

Of course laws have got to change here.

[WOOO]

Nope you are wrong, if jsut read it yesterday in the times magazine... US is the most hevily armed country in the world and we are talking guns in the hands of citizen... guess who was second... yep India.

hmmm... private gun ownership?

can you scan the article?

[Stark]

haha , new york times?you pitiful clueles sheep.

I said Times Magazine...pay attention

[Eyeball Chambers]

"I'll give up my gun--when they pry it from my cold, dead, hands"

[SinCitysmallGUY]

"I'll give up my gun--when they pry it from my cold, dead, hands"

Yeah if they pass that law I feel bad for the Fuck who knocks on my door... In response to who ever said the US has the most guns per citizen.. Hence why no one comes to our country and starts a war... Yeah 9-11 that was catching us with our pants down.. But if a country tried to take our shores.. All the americans with guns would fuck someone up.................

[Master Blaster]

Concealed handguns and medical marijuana! I just laugh when people claim this country is some kind of police state with no freedom. 

[benchmstr]

i just ordered another gun(rifle),that makes 7 this week.i am done buying guns for the year.

bench

[MB_722]

Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City
http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/yearb2007.html

U.S. most armed country with 90 guns per 100 people

By Laura MacInnis

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States has 90 guns for every 100 citizens, making it the most heavily armed society in the world, a report released on Tuesday said.

U.S. citizens own 270 million of the world's 875 million known firearms, according to the Small Arms Survey 2007 by the Geneva-based Graduate Institute of International Studies.

About 4.5 million of the 8 million new guns manufactured worldwide each year are purchased in the United States, it said.

"There is roughly one firearm for every seven people worldwide. Without the United States, though, this drops to about one firearm per 10 people," it said.

India had the world's second-largest civilian gun arsenal, with an estimated 46 million firearms outside law enforcement and the military, though this represented just four guns per 100 people there. China, ranked third with 40 million privately held guns, had 3 firearms per 100 people.

Germany, France, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil and Russia were next in the ranking of country's overall civilian gun arsenals.

On a per-capita basis, Yemen had the second most heavily armed citizenry behind the United States, with 61 guns per 100 people, followed by Finland with 56, Switzerland with 46, Iraq with 39 and Serbia with 38.

France, Canada, Sweden, Austria and Germany were next, each with about 30 guns per 100 people, while many poorer countries often associated with violence ranked much lower. Nigeria, for instance, had just one gun per 100 people.

"Firearms are very unevenly distributed around the world. The image we have of certain regions such as Africa or Latin America being awash with weapons -- these images are certainly misleading," Small Arms Survey director Keith Krause said.

"Weapons ownership may be correlated with rising levels of wealth, and that means we need to think about future demand in parts of the world where economic growth is giving people larger disposable income," he told a Geneva news conference.

The report, which relied on government data, surveys and media reports to estimate the size of world arsenals, estimated there were 650 million civilian firearms worldwide, and 225 million held by law enforcement and military forces.

Five years ago, the Small Arms Survey had estimated there were a total of just 640 million firearms globally.

"Civilian holdings of weapons worldwide are much larger than we previously believed," Krause said, attributing the increase largely to better research and more data on weapon distribution networks.

Only about 12 percent of civilian weapons are thought to be registered with authorities.

[Stark]

I pitty you all

[MB_722]

..

[WOOO]

meh 

[Stark]

meh 

that's it?

Okay one point for the Liberals

[bmacsys]

Trust me guys it's for your own good, you are the most heavily armed country in the world counted by citicens and you clearly showed that you unable to live with this huge responsiblity.

Stark, you are clueless. "For our own good"? Have you ever even stepped foot in the USA? Adolph Hitler banned private gun ownership. We see where that got the German people. For a country that is so heavily armed the percentage of actual death per weapon owned is extremely minute. Do the math.

[bmacsys]

Every jealous fukker from a country that legislates weapons out of existence thinks nobody should be allowed to own any.

[bmacsys]

Shit, 9 out of 10 homes have a gun. Thats pretty low estimate. What about a household that has multiple guns? I have a Colt 1911 .45, a SW 6906 9mm, a Ruger Red Label 12 gauge over under, a Winchester Model 101 20 gauge over under, a Mossberg 12 gauge Ultimag pump, a Winchester 12 gauge Model 1300 pump, not counting various rimfire weapons.

[benchmstr]

Shit, 9 out of 10 homes have a gun. Thats pretty low estimate. What about a household that has multiple guns? I have a Colt 1911 .45, a SW 6906 9mm, a Ruger Red Label 12 gauge over under, a Winchester Model 101 20 gauge over under, a Mossberg 12 gauge Ultimag pump, a Winchester 12 gauge Model 1300 pump, not counting various rimfire weapons.

yeah,if i started listing all of my guns,this thread would probably rival the "hulkster im calling for a truce" thread

bench

[WOOO]

yeah,if i started listing all of my guns,this thread would probably rival the "hulkster im calling for a truce" thread

bench

agreed... although i am not american i also own several firearms

[Stark]

Stark, you are clueless. "For our own good"? Have you ever even stepped foot in the USA? Adolph Hitler banned private gun ownership. We see where that got the German people. For a country that is so heavily armed the percentage of actual death per weapon owned is extremely minute. Do the math.

I'm clueless?
Oh I forgot that there is absolutely no reason to believe that having the most guns per citizen and the highest murder rate has anything to do with each other

Oh Hitler never forbade Germans to have weapons.. quit the opposite... he however forbade Jews to have weapons right after the Kristallnacht,... yeah but ok I'm delusional