Scope of 2nd Amendment questioned in case on handgun ban
08 Dec. 2006
Attorneys told a federal appeals court today that the Second Amendment protecting the right to bear arms applies only to militias and not to individuals packing heat.
D-C's solicitor general told a three-judge panel today that the Second Amendment should be interpreted on military terms.But at least one judge challenged that position. Judge Laurence Silberman said that view didn't even come up until the middle of the 20th century.
But he joined another judge in questioning whether the right to bear arms is even needed if a "well-regulated militia" from colonial times is no longer needed.The Bush administration is backing the rights of individual gun owners. And an unusual alliance of civil liberties groups and pro-gun organizations say the ban in the nation's capital is unconstitutional.