Handguns can be kept at home for self-defense under the Second Amendment. The court’s ruling of 5-4 went against the District of Columbia’s ban on guns.  The decision went either further than what the Bush administration was advocating. However, the majority of federal firearms restrictions will be left intact.

The District of Columbia has responded by enacting a plan to require resident’s to register their guns. The ruling was significant as the Second Amendment had not been interpreted since its 1791 ratification. The second amendment states “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.”

The main issues the justices debated was whether the amendment was tied with service in a state militia or an individual’s right to have ownership of a gun. Justice Antonin Scalia claimed the constitution does not support a prohibition of firearms for self defense. In defense Breyer, stated “In my view, there simply is no untouchable constitutional right guaranteed by the Second Amendment to keep loaded handguns in the house in crime-ridden urban areas.”

Chicago mayor Richard Daley is not pleased by the ruling. He worries of the implications for his city. The NRA praised the ruling and feels it is beginning to providing people with the rights to bear arms they deserve. The Bush administration is split on the decision. Vice President Dick Cheney is a supporter, but others fear the ruling could lead to the undoing of gun regulations. President Bush, however, was content by the ruling.