Gun ownership protected from state, local government bans, U.S. Supreme Court rules

State and local governments cannot quash the right to keep or bear arms, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled today (June 28) in a five to four vote.

Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and Caucus Vice-Chair Sen. Jon Tester, along with CSC House Vice-Chair Rep. Mike Ross, and Rep. Mark Souder, last year joined together with 58 Senators and 251 House members in filing a bipartisan, bicameral amicus curiae brief asking the Supreme Court to hold the Second Amendment applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment in the case.

In the decision of the McDonald v. City of Chicago case handed down today, the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito ruled that the Second Amendment is a fundamental individual right that applies to states through the Fourteenth Amendment in the same way the Supreme Court found that it applied to the Federal government in last year’s District of Columbia v. Heller decision. 

“The right to bear arms is a fundamental right of all Americans, and with this decision the Supreme Court has affirmed the applicability of this basic right regardless of location. This ruling is a victory for freedom, the Constitution and for all Americans,” Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation President Jeff Crane said.

"Today's ruling is a victory for freedom and liberty," said NSSF President Stephen L. Sanetti. "All law-abiding Americans, no matter whether they live in a big city like Chicago or in rural Wyoming, have the same Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Constitutional rights don't stop at state or city borders.”

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre agreed.

"It's a landmark decision," said Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association. "The Second Amendment as an individual right now becomes a real part of American Constitutional law."