Washington – The U.S. Supreme Court extended the reach of the constitutional right to bear arms by saying it binds state and local governments as well as the federal government.
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The Supreme Court ruled that gun possession is fundamental to American freedom, giving federal judges power to strike down state and local weapons laws for infringing on Second Amendment rights.
The justices on Monday cast doubt on a Chicago area handgun ban, but also signaled in their 5-4 decision that less severe restrictions could survive legal challenges.
This is a wonderful ruling for all law abiding citizens of the United States of America. When used responsibly a gun is an effective tool for helping ensure your and your family’s safety. When it comes to self defense, Halacha doesn’t give us a choice, it is a Mitzvah to defend yourself and family, up to and including using deadly force!
A really good big step in the right direction but we will need to win a few other ruling before being to celebrate for real NYC is still almost as bad as Chicago
In chicago crime was up alot after the ban of guns because only the thugs had guns. many kids in chicago where killed with a bat. now the criminals will know that anyone can defend themself by having a gun
will we still need a permit to get a gun?
were can I buy one today
hay guys watch out no more stealing torahs
This is a big victory for judicial liberals who have urged that the entire bill of rights be interpreted as applying to the states. Judicial conservatives used to argue against this, but it looks like they have surrendered on this. Next will be forcing states to provide for jury trials in all civil cases.
In NY, one can only use deadly force to combat proportionate deadly force, but only after victim tries to retreat, unless victim is in his home, is being raped or robbed, is a police officer, or retreat would be unsafe. This is all if you had reasonable belief deadly force was going to be imminently used on you. One cannot use deadly force to defend property (i.e. a spring-loaded shotgun set to shoot trespassers when the front door of an empty house is opened). One can’t use deadly force if aggressor withdraws and announces his action.
Everyone I know in Florida lives in a gated community of some sort so its hard to compare it with NY.
And people rarely talk about the role that guns play in domestic violence. Often a domestic incident goes unreported because the victim knows the perp has a gun.
Personally (and for what it’s worth), I think the Court decided the issue correctly, given my admittedly limited reading about of the intention of the authors of the second amendment to the Constitution.
Having said that, I’m concerned that increased gun ownership among law-abiding citizens will lead to more accidents. Some people become less careful with potentially dangerous devices as they grow accustomed to them.
The best example of the that is the automobile, which almost every adult in the US is licensed to operate. Although the vast majority of people operate them safely and are vigilant to protect children around them, yet, there are countless incidents of automobile accidents attributable to poor training, carelessness or reckless behavior.
Perhaps people will instinctively treat guns differently and I hope they do. But, it certainly gives me pause when I imagine a gun in the hand of some of the very people I’ve encountered on the road!
Criminals will always have the guns, they’re criminals, they don’t care about keeping the law. Making firearms illegal doesn’t change the amount of firearms available, and making firearms legal does not reflect the amount of murders in any locality, in fact it seems to lower them, because the criminal knows that the potential victim may well have a weapon on him, since it is legal.
therefore it should be legal.
Keep in mind that the reason that the constitution allows the freedom to bear arms, is so that we can overthrow the government if they become tyrannical! The designers of this country were heavily influenced by philosophers like Locke, Hobbes, Hume, Rousseau and many other enlightenment thinkers whose ideas of classical and political liberalism, and freedom from tyranny are intimately interwoven within the very framework of the constitution.
It has been proven that crime goes down when more citizens own guns because the criminals are afraid to steal from or break into homes where the home owner has a gun. What emboldens them is when they are pretty sure the victim will be an easy mark because of gun control laws.
I look at the whole issue as it affects our freedom, and as it affects our personal safety.
the founders wrote the constitution with freedom and democracy in mind (ahem Obama administration). when citizens are unable to protect themselves, there is no deterrent from government overreaching beyond its constitutional limits, and bringing Americans back to the European style dictatorships they fled.
Democratic government by definition is by the people, and has no greater right to carry guns then the citizens that vote it into legitimacy.
As for crime, it is not to be blamed on the weapons used, it is to be blamed on society’s ill’s such as all the crime in movie’s and TV shows.
We need deterrents against criminals who would otherwise enter our homes and cars without hesitation, for the same reason our country needs nuclear deterrents to protect us from dictators in third world countries.