Whose right to bear arms?

The Supreme Court hears a crucial case

Mar 19th 2008|washington, dc

GUN laws are a matter of life and death, reckoned both groups of protesters outside the Supreme Court on March 18th. One side argued that sensible curbs on gun ownership save lives. The other side retorted that if you outlaw guns, only criminals will carry them. Plus the police, of course, but gun-lovers don't find that terribly reassuring. “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away,” read one placard.

The oddly punctuated second amendment to America's constitution says: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” Does this mean that all Americans may own guns, or only those who serve in a militia? Oddly, given how emotive this dispute is, the Supreme Court has never settled it. But the case of District of Columbia v Heller, which was argued this week, gives it a chance to do just that.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Whose right to bear arms?”