Gun-control advocates buoyed by Supreme Court ruling on firearms
By Reid Wilson
Posted: 02/24/09 08:41 PM [ET]
In its first major ruling on gun rights following a sweeping decision that largely defined the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday offered a hopeful sign to gun control advocates by upholding a ban on some gun ownership rights.
The seven to two majority opinion, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, upheld a 1996 amendment that prevents those convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse from owning firearms.
The Supreme Court ruled a challenge the Bush administration made to a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the so-called Lautenberg Amendment. The Fourth Circuit interpreted the Lautenberg amendment narrowly, and the ruling would have greatly expanded the ability of domestic abusers to own weapons.
Gun control advocates hailed the ruling as a good sign following the Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, a 2008 decision that defined the Second Amendment as covering an individual's right to possess weapons. That decision was the first time the Court had ever ruled so broadly on gun rights.
But the Heller ruling suggested that some reasonable restrictions to gun ownership would be allowed. "That's a good sign that Heller is the limited ruling we thought it was," said Daniel Vice, a senior attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“Today, the Supreme Court sided with abused women and children and against the gun lobby,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a gun control advocate and the author of the original amendment.
“Today's decision means we can continue keeping guns out of dangerous hands and saving innocent lives.”
Gun control advocates spun the decision as a blow to gun rights groups. The National Rifle Association and major gun rights backers in Congress did not immediately comment for this story.
The Brady Center and more than a dozen law enforcement organizations submitted a friend of the court brief backing the Launtenberg Amendment, citing the hundreds of domestic violence deaths each year they say are prevented by the amendment. Law enforcement organizations also said a significant proportion of police officer deaths each year occur during responses to domestic violence calls.
Ginsburg's majority opinion attracted Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's most centrist member, along with conservatives Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Thomas concurred with all but one section of the ruling.
Justices Antonin Scalia and John Roberts were the lone dissenters.
http://tinyurl.com/d4v9v4 or
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news...reme-court-ruling-on-firearms-2009-02-24.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
By Reid Wilson
Posted: 02/24/09 08:41 PM [ET]
In its first major ruling on gun rights following a sweeping decision that largely defined the Second Amendment, the Supreme Court on Tuesday offered a hopeful sign to gun control advocates by upholding a ban on some gun ownership rights.
The seven to two majority opinion, authored by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, upheld a 1996 amendment that prevents those convicted of misdemeanor domestic abuse from owning firearms.
The Supreme Court ruled a challenge the Bush administration made to a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling on the so-called Lautenberg Amendment. The Fourth Circuit interpreted the Lautenberg amendment narrowly, and the ruling would have greatly expanded the ability of domestic abusers to own weapons.
Gun control advocates hailed the ruling as a good sign following the Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, a 2008 decision that defined the Second Amendment as covering an individual's right to possess weapons. That decision was the first time the Court had ever ruled so broadly on gun rights.
But the Heller ruling suggested that some reasonable restrictions to gun ownership would be allowed. "That's a good sign that Heller is the limited ruling we thought it was," said Daniel Vice, a senior attorney at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
“Today, the Supreme Court sided with abused women and children and against the gun lobby,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), a gun control advocate and the author of the original amendment.
“Today's decision means we can continue keeping guns out of dangerous hands and saving innocent lives.”
Gun control advocates spun the decision as a blow to gun rights groups. The National Rifle Association and major gun rights backers in Congress did not immediately comment for this story.
The Brady Center and more than a dozen law enforcement organizations submitted a friend of the court brief backing the Launtenberg Amendment, citing the hundreds of domestic violence deaths each year they say are prevented by the amendment. Law enforcement organizations also said a significant proportion of police officer deaths each year occur during responses to domestic violence calls.
Ginsburg's majority opinion attracted Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's most centrist member, along with conservatives Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. Thomas concurred with all but one section of the ruling.
Justices Antonin Scalia and John Roberts were the lone dissenters.
http://tinyurl.com/d4v9v4 or
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news...reme-court-ruling-on-firearms-2009-02-24.html
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information
for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *