Supreme Court Strikes Down DC Gun Ban

June 26, 2008 in International, News & Opinion, Politics & Government
Tags: 2nd, 2nd Amendment, Adrian Fenty, Alito, ban, Breyer, court, DC, District of Columbia, Fenty, Ginsburg, gun, guns, right to bear arms, Roberts, Scalia, SCOTUS, Second, Souter, Stevens, Supreme, Thomas

CNN: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a sweeping ban on handguns in the nation’s capital violated the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The justices struck down the ban in a 5-4 decision, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion for the majority.

Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said he was disappointed in the ruling but will give the district’s police department 21 days to implement a process for registering handguns. It still will be illegal to carry handguns outside the home, and all pistols must be registered with police.

Officials said a hot line would be set up to handle questions about the new regulations.

“It is important to respect the court’s authority and to act quickly,” Fenty said.