Supreme Court strikes down ban on handguns
By David G. Savage, Tribune Washington Bureau |
Mon, 28 Jun 2010
The court rules in a 5-4 decision that Chicago's ban on handguns is unconstitutional, extending the 2nd Amendment's protections to the state and local levels.
Reporting from Washington —
The Supreme Court reversed a ruling upholding Chicago's ban on handguns Monday and extended the reach of the 2nd Amendment as a nationwide protection against laws that infringe on the "right to keep and bear arms."
The 5-4 decision appears to void the 1982 ordinance, one of the nation's strictest, which barred city residents from having handguns for their own use, even at home.
The ruling has both local and national implications.
Two years ago, the high court ruled in a case from Washington, D.C., that the 2nd Amendment protects the rights of individuals to have a gun for self-defense. Since the District is a federal city and not a state, the court did not decide then whether the 2nd Amendment could be used to challenge other municipal ordinances or state laws.
In Monday's decision, the court said the constitutional protection of the 2nd Amendment extends to city and state laws, not just federal measures.
Gun-rights advocates have been closely following the Chicago case. They said a victory for the 2nd Amendment would clear the way for constitutional challenges to restrictions on firearms to be heard in federal courts nationwide.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote the opinion for the Court. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Clarence Thomas joined to form the majority.
Retiring Justice John Paul Stevens spoke for the dissenters.
david.savage@latimes.com
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