LETTER: Supreme Court said gun ownership is an individual right
In response to Steve Miller’s June 14 letter, “Gun amendment”:
Calling murderers, mass killers or criminals a member of a well-regulated militia is irrelevant. No one is required to be a member of a well-regulated militia to own arms.
In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller, ruled that the Second Amendment is an individual right. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the majority: “The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.”
The keywords are “unconnected with service in a militia.” This ruling makes irrelevant the argument that one must be a member of a well-regulated militia. This ruling also clarified that the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms is an individual right just like all the other rights in the Bill of Rights.
Lastly, exactly who should regulate the well-regulated militia? The Bill of Rights was written to protect the people from a tyrannical government. The Founders certainly did not want the government to regulate militias, thus the words “shall not be infringed.”
