Justice Kennedy cites 'hostile' tribes in gun case

Wednesday, March 19, 2008  

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Tuesday in a case that tests the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The District of Columbia is defending a law that bars private handgun ownership. A lawyer for the city told the court that the Second Amendment was written with the military in mind.

That argument drew a quick response from Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. He suggested the Second Amendment was written with self-defense in mind.

"It had nothing to do with the concern of the remote settler to defend himself and his family against hostile Indian tribes and outlaws, wolves and bears and grizzlies and things like that?" he asked, according to the oral argument transcript].

Other justices appeared ready to accept that the Second Amendment does guarantee a private individual's right to bear arms. The Department of Justice, however, is urging the court to recognize that governments have a right to regulate gun ownership.

The case is D.C. v. Heller, No. 07-290.

Get the Story:
Justices Appear Skeptical Of D.C.'s Handgun Ban (The Washington Post 3/19)
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Court Weighs Right to Guns, and Its Limits (The New York Times 3/19)
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