Gun owners dodged a bullet in 2008 when the Supreme Court confirmed gun ownership is an individual right. In a five to four ruling the Court said a handgun ban in Washington, DC was unconstitutional because the 2nd Amendment is an individual right.

What does this ruling mean to us? Probably not as much as we hope. It was a bare majority that ruled in our favor so it could be easily overturned. The ruling applies only to Washington, DC so new court cases will have to determine if it applies to all citizens of the US and all states. And anti-gun politicians, media and groups will fight our rights every step of the way.

It is amazing that four Supreme Court justices could say the 2nd Amendment is not an individual right. These are the same four justices that found some kind of constitutional right for one of the most despicable type criminal, a child rapists. Those justices said child rapists could not be executed no matter how badly they hurt the child, unless they killed them. They said the lowlife had some constitutional right to be kept alive, but you and I don’t have the right to own a gun.

Those four justices also found some constitutional right for foreign terrorists captured by our military in other countries. They said those terrorists had the same constitutional rights as United States citizens to our courts. Foreign soldiers captured in battle don’t have those rights, but according to the four justices, terrorists do.

I grew up around guns. They are tools that I can use for hunting, sport shooting and self protection. Anyone can misuse a tool but rational people don’t blame the tool for its misuse.

There is some kind of disconnect from reality when it comes to guns by some people. One of the most amazing comments I have seen about the Supreme Court ruling was by Scripts News Service writer Dan K. Thomasson who wrote “Most disturbing was Scalia’s reasoning that residents of this city — and before long probably every other city — can now hold off a bandit with a gun in one hand while dialing the police with another.”

I hope I will have a gun if I catch a bandit, whether I use my other hand to call the police or not. I am sure Thomasson would rather we cower in a corner while the bandit does whatever he wants to do to us, probably with his illegal gun.

Although the 2nd Amendment is not about hunting this decision does protect hunters, too. At least it protects us until the Supreme Court gets one more judge that thinks child rapists and terrorists have rights you and I don’t have.

Then presidential candidate Barak Obama was shown in an interview nodding his head and saying yes, he supported the DC gun ban. But he also says he believes the 2nd Amendment is an individual right. Talk about “doublespeak” and a disconnect from reality! How can you believe we have a right to “keep and bear arms” while supporting a law that makes it illegal to own a gun? His actions, especilly the recent ammo ban, has proved he is against the 2nd Amendment.

Is there any question what kind of Supreme Court justice Obama would nominate?

Scalia also wrote in the majority opinion: “it is not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose.” And “the court’s opinion should not be taken to cast doubt on long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings.”

One gun banner grabbed on this and said “In other words, the debate will continue over such common-sense reforms as background checks on gun sales, restricting bulk sales of handguns and tougher penalties on crooked gun dealers. In fact, by making it clear that such laws do not violate the Constitution, Scalia’s opinion makes it harder to raise Second Amendment objections to such legislation.”

Scalia said nothing about background checks or other “sensible” laws like a limit of one gun purchase a month. What is sensible? According to many gun banners, the DC law prohibiting the ownership of a handgun was “sensible!” To them a complete ban on gun ownership is “sensible.”

We won a victory but the war rages on.