Supreme Court Upholds Gun Right

S.A.M. said:
So if everyone has a right to arms, anyone can have them, right?

Can they still arrest people for possessing a firearm? Or is that unconstitutional?
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It's complicated and requires a complex mathematical formula to figure out. As an Indian, I'm sure you've got the math part down pat, but I'm barred by law from telling anybody without proper clearance who is and who is not allowed to own firearms.

I'd tell you but I'd have to kill you.

Hmmm... though, I can give you a hint and just beat the shit out of you. ;)

~String
 
S.A.M. said:
Yeah, some students were found with Uzis in our university. Apparently, they are as easy to get as apple pie. Whoopie.

Maybe all students should get machine guns.
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The Uzi is not a machinegun, it is a machine pistol. Uzis are categorically illegal under the Federal import ban. The Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (Hughes Amendment) bans the sale of automatic weapons of any kind that were manufactured after 1986. In any case, it is guaranteed that whatever weapons those students were busted with were either banned or highly regulated, the students procured them illegally, and the presence or absence of the DC handgun ban would have no effect whatsoever on their prevalence on or around your campus.

To answer your later question, not everyone can own a firearm. Read about the Gun Control Act of 1968.

phlogistician said:
Also, as the general public own handguns and rifles, and the National Guard and Army have tanks, aircraft and a whole lot more toys, and are trained to use them, I don't think the general public stand a chance in hell should there be martial law.

Just what would turn an American citizen into a cop killer anyway?
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If the situation in the US became so desperate that Posse Comitatus bit the shitter and the US military was ordered to act on the civilian population, we would be too busy deserting and overthrowing the government to shoot our friends and families.
 
Seriously, Take the automatics off.. You can go without a 30 round mag, can't you ?

Hell, I'm scared to be around Bolt action rifles...
Aren't they loud enough ?
 
So its a constitutional right to own a gun but not everyone has the right to own one?

Is this true for all guns? Are there guns for which you do not need a licence or age requirement?
 
S.A.M. said:
So its a constitutional right to own a gun but not everyone has the right to own one?
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The 2nd Amendment only applies to the militia. The current militia act, the Militia Act of 1958, defines the militia as:
(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

(b) The classes of the militia are—
  1. the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard and the Naval Militia; and
  2. the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the Naval Militia.
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#2 is where most recreational gun owners fall under. They are not in the military, but if they are able-bodied males between 17 and 45, they are part of the unorganized militia and are protected under the 2nd Amendment.

That is my understanding of things, at least.

S.A.M. said:
Is this true for all guns? Are there guns for which you do not need a licence or age requirement?
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This is a very complex question and its answers rely heavily upon what state (and sometimes city) you live in. Federal firearm laws, in addition to the 1968 GCA I linked to above, also regulate things like machine guns, suppressors (what are often erroneously called "silencers"), short-barreled rifles (less than 16"), etc. You can still buy a machinegun or a suppressor for your pistol, but you need to fill out a bunch more paperwork, pay some fees, and additional taxes. Federal law also regulates the transfer of firearms between different states and mandates that dealers order criminal background checks for every purchase and a 10 day waiting period before delivery of the firearm to the purchaser. There are more, but you get the idea.

On top of the Federal laws, states impose restrictions on who can carry a concealed firearm, what type of license you need to do so, and what it takes to get that license. Some states also have more restrictions on specific types of firearms and high capacity magazines that more or less resemble the now-defunct 1994 Assault Weapons Ban. The AWB was a Federal law that expired in 2004 and did not get enough support in Congress to be renewed, so in response, some of the less "gun friendly" states simply plagiarized the AWB and made it a state law. Gun control is by and large a state issue. Federal gun laws get into the territory of states' rights, which is unsavory territory for a lot of voters and politicians.

Municipal laws, like the DC gun ban, are not very common. Only New York, Chicago, and San Francisco have similar laws, and after this precedent I'm sure their days are numbered.

As for not needing a license or age requirement; you need to be 18 to buy a long gun (rifle or shotgun) and 21 to buy a handgun. Purchasing an air rifle, CO2 pistol, etc. usually requires that you be 18 as well, but I think that is a state thing. There is no Federal license requirement to own a gun, but a few states do have license requirements for ownership.

The NRA keeps a good reference for both Federal and state laws: http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/
 
So basically you have a militia and a constitutional right to gun ownership so you can fight a demagogic government, but the government decides who owns a gun and which gun. Is that right?
 
But as I understand it, it cannot withhold the right of ownership unless it has a reason like they are a criminal or mentally ill.
 
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Hooray! And how appropriate that it happens just before the 4th of July!
S.A.M. said:
So basically you have a militia and a constitutional right to gun ownership so you can fight a demagogic government, but the government decides who owns a gun and which gun. Is that right?
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For someone who goes on and on about every little bad thing the US has ever done, no matter how obscure, how is it that you know so little about things such as this?

The right to own a gun applies to every adult. It, like the right to vote, can't be taken away without good reason. Felons, for instance, can't vote or own firearms in most states. The mentally ill can't own guns. Pretty much any other adult can.
spidergoat said:
Is the court still bolshevik? Or is this a ruling conservatives can agree with?
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This decision, like many, was 5-4. So we have 4 or 5 bolsheviks, depending on the issue. We're really just one more judicial appointment shy of an ironclad conservative majority on the Court. Let's hope McCain gets in and sees to it we get it!
 
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And I suppose, those who work for the government, have tanks, while those who do not, have stones.
 
Echo3Romeo said:
From the opinion (PDF):

Whoops, there goes the argument that people shouldn't have machineguns or any other modern firearms.
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Thank You for the PDF, it is awesome, the SCOTUS came down squarely on the side of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, all arms.

They defined the Militia as the People, all able bodied people of the Country, and that the Militia isn't the organized Army or National Guard.

This is going to change a lot of gun control laws, as they restrict the People from the right to defend them selves, by restricting access to firearms and their procession, and ability to bear those arms in defence of their dignity and person.

Awesome!
 
S.A.M. said:
And I suppose, those who work for the government, have tanks, while those who do not, have stones.
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What the hell are you talking about? Any American (except felons) who wants a gun can just go the the gun store and buy one.

There was a shootout in LA (I believe) a few years ago and the police were out gunned. So what did they do? They went to a gun store down the street and bought more guns. This was just a normal gunshop they went to. One open to the public. They walked in and purchased guns superior to the ones issued to them by the government so they could match the firepower of the criminals.
 
madanthonywayne said:
There was a shootout in LA (I believe) a few years ago and the police were out gunned. So what did they do? They went to a gun store down the street and bought more guns. This was just a normal gunshop they went to. One open to the public. They walked in and purchased guns superior to the ones issued to them by the government so they could match the firepower of the criminals.
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I posted the youtube video to that. The year was 1997, i believe. After that the cops have machine guns and whatever firepower they want.:eek:
 
S.A.M. said:
So basically you have a militia and a constitutional right to gun ownership so you can fight a demagogic government, but the government decides who owns a gun and which gun. Is that right?
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It has been held that the STATE governments can restrict and govern gun ownership to a certain extent. The average citizen does not have the right to posses WMD's or a howitzer, for example, but they do have the right to posses personal fire arms so long as they follow the law and do not have a previous criminal record. Some states are very strict, some are very lenient. The federal government was allowed to restrict how quickly a person can get a fire arm, but in the end, any law abiding citizen can buy and carry a firearm.

~String
 
Buffalo Roam said:
Thank You for the PDF, it is awesome, the SCOTUS came down squarely on the side of the right of the people to keep and bear arms, all arms.

They defined the Militia as the People, all able bodied people of the Country, and that the Militia isn't the organized Army or National Guard.

This is going to change a lot of gun control laws, as they restrict the People from the right to defend them selves, by restricting access to firearms and their procession, and ability to bear those arms in defence of their dignity and person.

Awesome!
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wait does that mean i have the right to bear all sorts of medieval weaponary if i wanted to?
 
Buffalo Roam said:
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Well if they decide to put, for instance, all the Japanese Americans into prison, is it a demagogic government? Can the Japanese Americans attack them? I doubt it, because the guns that the National Guard and the US forces, employed by the government, are bigger. It would be like throwing stones at a tank and sometimes, the guy driving the tank can't see if there are people in front of him.
 
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