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Supreme Court Holds Right to Bear Arms Applies to Individuals

Posted by timothy on from the founders'-rolling-speed-reduced-slightly dept.

Now.Imperfect writes "In its last day of session, the Supreme Court has definitively clarified the meaning of the Second Amendment. The confusion is whether the Second Amendment allows merely for the existence of a state militia, or the private ownership of guns. This ruling is in response to a case regarding the 32-year-old Washington DC ban on guns." This is one of the most-watched Supreme Court cases in a long time, and Wikipedia's page on the case gives a good overview; the actual text of the decision (PDF) runs to 157 pages, but the holding is summarized in the first three. There are certainly other aspects of the Second Amendment left unaddressed, however, so you can't go straight to the store for a recently made automatic rifle.

21 of 2,221 comments (clear)

  1. Sweet by multipartmixed · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now they can address more pressing issues. Like the right to bare chests.

    --

    Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
    1. Re:Sweet by Harold+Halloway · · Score: 5, Funny

      Or the right to arm bears.

    2. Re:Sweet by UnknowingFool · · Score: 5, Funny

      *Imagines the average slashdotter topless*
      MY EYES! MY EYES!!

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      Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    3. Re:Sweet by Gewalt · · Score: 4, Funny

      Or the right to arm bears. Man, that used to be so much funnier before reading His Dark Materials.
      --
      Modding Trolls +1 inciteful since 1999
    4. Re:Sweet by roystgnr · · Score: 5, Funny

      Lack of natural light = blindingly white skin.

      We prefer the term "radiant", thank you very much.

    5. Re:Sweet by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

      I've gone all the way to translucent.

    6. Re:Sweet by Tetsujin · · Score: 3, Funny

      I've gone all the way to translucent.

      Hm, interesting. I'm going to have to ask you to answer this riddle...

      Alive without breath,
      As cold as death;
      Never thirsty, ever drinking,
      All in mail never clinking.

      --
      Bow-ties are cool.
    7. Re:Sweet by alexj33 · · Score: 3, Funny

      ..or the right for people to have bear arms.

    8. Re:Sweet by QuantumHobbit · · Score: 5, Funny

      No! Not bears. They're godless killing machines.

    9. Re:Sweet by rrkap · · Score: 5, Funny

      Fish. Now my turn:

      What's in my pocket? :-P

      I don't know, but can you stop playing with it for a second?
      --
      I like my beverages with warning labels!
    10. Re:Sweet by ROMRIX · · Score: 4, Funny

      *Imagines the average slashdotter topless*
      MY EYES! MY EYES!!

      Dude, I thought I was catching a disturbing visual of a pasty skinned, bloodshot eyed, black horn rimmed glasses with tape holding them together wearing, old nipple ring scar from a keyring that rusted in place he'd gotten at a hacker convention slashdotter. Then I realized what a quality reflection these new 32 inch LCDs give you in just the right light...
    11. Re:Sweet by computational+super · · Score: 3, Funny

      Bah - just goes to show what we get for not being specific. We meant for it to be mandatory, not just legal.

      --
      Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
  2. Re:What a moot issue by Hatta · · Score: 4, Funny

    American citizens are already revolting. They don't need guns for that. ;)

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    Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
  3. How Effective are Bear Arms For Home Defence? by MrSteveSD · · Score: 4, Funny

    I suppose the claws could cut any intruder up pretty bad, but are they practical?

  4. Re:This is a monumental and historic decision by dirk · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's so nice to have a new immigrant to our country, how long have you been in the US? One week or two?

    --

    "Information wants to be expensive" - Stewart Brand, the same guy who said "Information wants to be free"
  5. Re:f*ck yes by olyar · · Score: 3, Funny

    To whom would this security be against?

    Our own government. I agree with you that it's not clear what the original intent of that wording was. I've always heard though that one argument for the general public having guns is that its additional check on our government over-stepping its bounds.

    That didn't work out so well for the Southerners in the Civil War... but that's a whole other discussion. :)

    --
    Custom, hands-free Linux installs. Instalinux
  6. Re:It's about damn time by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Funny
    Dear Sir, I came across your desire to own nuclear weapons. We provide the highest quality nuclear weapons to any one with absolutely no questions asked. Please contact:

    Abdul Qadir Khan,

    C/o Embassy of Pakistan

    Washington DC, USA.

    We accept all major credit cards. Operators are standing by. If you order in the next 10 minutes we will double your order.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  7. Re:This is a monumental and historic decision by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 5, Funny

    How is "the right to own a gun" on the same team as "ban abortions...

    If fetuses could carry guns, there would be no need to outlaw abortions.

  8. Re:This is a monumental and historic decision by MagicM · · Score: 5, Funny

    How can you mess up "you must be new here?" like that?

    You must be new here.

  9. Re:Oh great... by Moofie · · Score: 3, Funny

    Can you think of any situation in history where a military force has been successfully resisted by armed locals?

    --
    Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
  10. Re:Lies, damned lies... by Clay+Pigeon+-TPF-VS- · · Score: 3, Funny

    You read playboy for the articles too?

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    Viral software licensing is not freedom, it is in fact GNU/Socialism.