Can a city/state ban handguns?

Can a city/state ban handguns?

…or is this a violation of the 2nd Amendment?

2nd Amendment

• 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.

Why is there so much disagreement?• Gun Control

Advocates focus on “A well regulated militia…”

• They argue that the citizenry made up the militia and was well regulated, and so should be today for safety reasons.

• Brady Campaign for Gun Control.

• Gun Rights Advocates focus on “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed.”

• They argue that the 2nd Amd. is plain and clear that the government cannot keep the people from owning and using firearms.

• National Rifle Assoc.

D.C. v. Heller (June 26, 2008)

What will the impact be of this case?

What will the impact be of this case?

• Supreme Court's Gun Ban Decision Likely to Spark New Round of Court Battles– FOXNews, June 26, 2008

• NRA challenges gun rules in Chicago, San Francisco– Reuters, June 28, 2008

New ruling in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals• A federal appeals court ruled on April 21, 2009,

that private citizens can challenge state and local gun laws by invoking the constitutional right to bear arms - the first such ruling in the nation - but upheld a ban on firearms at gun shows at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.

• The ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco followed last year's landmark Supreme Court decision that the Constitution's Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess guns for self-defense.

New ruling in 9th Circuit Court of Appeals• The case was a challenge by gun show promoters

to a 1999 ordinance that banned firearms on all Alameda County property, including the fairgrounds, where 16 people had been injured in a melee that included gunfire the previous year. The court could have decided the case with its conclusion that the ban was a reasonable safety measure, without addressing the Second Amendment, but opted for a broader ruling.

• While a few sections of the Bill of Rights apply only to the federal government, amendments that protect fundamental rights - including the Second Amendment - can be enforced against the states, said Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain in the 3-0 decision.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/04/21/BA1V1760BI.DTL