SCOTUS Strikes Down DC Gun Ban

The Supreme Court has struck down the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old ban on handguns, ruling 5-4 that Americans have an individual right to own guns for self-defense and hunting — the Court’s first major pronouncement on gun rights in US history.

Lyle Denniston adds at SCOTUS Blog:

Justice Scalia’s opinion stressed that the Court was not casting doubt on long-standing bans on carrying a concealed gun or on gun possession by felons or the mentally retarded, on laws barring guns from schools or government buildings, and laws putting conditions on gun sales.

Barack Obama’s campaign denounced as “inartful” a statement to the Chicago Tribune last year in which an unnamed aide characterized Obama’s position as believing that the DC ban was constitutional.