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Supreme Court Rules for Gun Rights

The American Deer & Wildlife Alliance praises the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in a historic Second Amendment case. In its second major ruling on gun rights in three years, the Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Second Amendment protects the rights of all Americans. The decision is a victory for all American citizens who believe the Second Amendment is an individual right and a freedom worth defending. Part of the five-justice majority, Justice Samuel Alito wrote: "the right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner." The ruling builds upon the Court's 2008 decision in D.C. v. Heller that invalidated the handgun ban in the nation's capital. More importantly, that decision held that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was a right our country¹s founding fathers specifically delegated to individuals. The justices affirmed that decision and extended its reach to the 50 states. The ruling also invalidates Chicago's handgun ban, which was brought to the High Court as McDonald v. City of Chicago. ³This decision affirms that the Second Amendment protects every law-abiding American¹s right to self-defense,² says John Meng, president of the American Deer & Wildlife Alliance. ³As our founding fathers so wisely prescribed, these are rights bestowed upon us by God that cannot Constitutionally be circumvented. Freedom should never be an optional or scalable benefit that changes from one part of the country to another. ³However, I¹m still concerned over the slim margin of victory. We were one vote away from losing our right to keep and bear arms. As good as this victory is, it should also be a reminder how we must remain vigilant in defending the Second Amendment.²