Today, the United States Supreme Court will hear arguments in District of Columbia v. Heller, to rule on the meaning of the Second Amendment – the part of the Constitution that guarantees the “right to keep and bear arms.”  The Supreme Court has only decided on one significant case, nearly 70 years ago, involving the scope of the Second Amendment.  The Court will rule on the ultimate question: does the Second Amendment protect the individual right to keep operable firearms for self defense, or does it only protect the collective right to have guns in an organized military?

The case has been brought by Dick Anthony Heller, a D.C. special police officer and resident, who carries a gun while on duty.  Under the D.C. gun ban law, he is forbidden from keeping a handgun, a rifle, or a shotgun in his home.  The D.C. Circuit ruled that this restrictive law violates the Second Amendment and concluded that handguns are lineal descendants of founding-era weapons and are still in common use today, and they cannot be banned.  Furthermore, the court found D.C.’s requirement that guns be stored in a disabled condition unconstitutional because it prevents them from being used for self-defense.  The Supreme Court will review today whether the D.C. gun ban violates “the Second Amendment rights of individuals.” 

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