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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/417063.html
Gays, women want D.C. gun ban lifted
A Supreme Court case over a District of Columbia handgun ban drew briefs
from gays, women, Jews and disabled veterans who want the ban lifted.
Wed, Feb. 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Gay gun owners who call themselves Pink Pistols say they will
be safer if the Supreme Court strikes down Washington's strict handgun ban.
They aren't alone. Jewish gun owners, women and disabled veterans, among
others, also contend that they're vulnerable and need the protection that
only firearms can provide.
More than 65 groups have filed friend of the court briefs in the gun case,
surpassing the attention paid to such hot-button issues as affirmative
action and abortion.
The case, scheduled for oral arguments on March 18, challenges a District of
Columbia handgun ban that was imposed in 1976. Only retired district police
officers can legally possess handguns. District residents must keep rifles
unloaded and either disassembled or secured with trigger locks.
''Even in their homes, [gay] individuals are at risk of murder, aggravated
assault and other forms of hate violence because of their sexual
orientation,'' Pink Pistols declared in its amicus brief. ``Thus, for
certain [gay] individuals, the possession of firearms in the home is
essential for a sense of personal security.''
Some of the groups have been assembled to crank up the volume for this case.
Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, for instance, has rallied Vice
President Dick Cheney and 304 other members of Congress in opposition to
Washington's gun law.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke sociologist Fran Fuller has joined
Idaho state legislator Maxine Bell, California Assemblywoman Jean Fuller and
123 other women to stress the necessity of gun ownership.
''The district's current prohibition against handguns . . . effectively
eliminates a woman's ability to defend her very life and those of her
children against violent attack,'' the female legislators and professors
said in their brief.
Some long-standing groups also have weighed in, including the
Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership and,
supporting the national capital's strict handgun ban, the American Academy
of Pediatrics and the American Bar Association.
In the case, a handful of Washington residents claim that the district's gun
law violates the Second Amendment, which says: ``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.''
Gun rights advocates argue that the Constitution guarantees an individual's
right to own firearms. If the Supreme Court agrees, some but not all
gun-control laws could be struck down.
Supporters of gun control say the Second Amendment's language protects only
a collective right to own firearms, as with a state militia.
Gays, women want D.C. gun ban lifted
A Supreme Court case over a District of Columbia handgun ban drew briefs
from gays, women, Jews and disabled veterans who want the ban lifted.
Wed, Feb. 13, 2008
WASHINGTON -- Gay gun owners who call themselves Pink Pistols say they will
be safer if the Supreme Court strikes down Washington's strict handgun ban.
They aren't alone. Jewish gun owners, women and disabled veterans, among
others, also contend that they're vulnerable and need the protection that
only firearms can provide.
More than 65 groups have filed friend of the court briefs in the gun case,
surpassing the attention paid to such hot-button issues as affirmative
action and abortion.
The case, scheduled for oral arguments on March 18, challenges a District of
Columbia handgun ban that was imposed in 1976. Only retired district police
officers can legally possess handguns. District residents must keep rifles
unloaded and either disassembled or secured with trigger locks.
''Even in their homes, [gay] individuals are at risk of murder, aggravated
assault and other forms of hate violence because of their sexual
orientation,'' Pink Pistols declared in its amicus brief. ``Thus, for
certain [gay] individuals, the possession of firearms in the home is
essential for a sense of personal security.''
Some of the groups have been assembled to crank up the volume for this case.
Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, for instance, has rallied Vice
President Dick Cheney and 304 other members of Congress in opposition to
Washington's gun law.
University of North Carolina at Pembroke sociologist Fran Fuller has joined
Idaho state legislator Maxine Bell, California Assemblywoman Jean Fuller and
123 other women to stress the necessity of gun ownership.
''The district's current prohibition against handguns . . . effectively
eliminates a woman's ability to defend her very life and those of her
children against violent attack,'' the female legislators and professors
said in their brief.
Some long-standing groups also have weighed in, including the
Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership and,
supporting the national capital's strict handgun ban, the American Academy
of Pediatrics and the American Bar Association.
In the case, a handful of Washington residents claim that the district's gun
law violates the Second Amendment, which says: ``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.''
Gun rights advocates argue that the Constitution guarantees an individual's
right to own firearms. If the Supreme Court agrees, some but not all
gun-control laws could be struck down.
Supporters of gun control say the Second Amendment's language protects only
a collective right to own firearms, as with a state militia.
