At long last, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has validated that view. The DC Circuit held that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right for private citizens to keep and bear arms, and invalidated the DC gun ban as unconstitutional. In doing so, they affirmed that owning a gun is a civil right of all law-abiding citizens.

The implications of this case are enormous as the city government decides how to proceed. Eventually, this matter may be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Constitutional lawyers explain that if this case is affirmed, it would lay the foundation for changing gun control laws all over the country. At the same time, if the appeals court decision is reversed, the impact could be enormous, as it could begin to erode support for the idea that owning firearms is a basic right.

Every American should care about this case, and every American should hope the Supreme Court clearly reaffirms this fundamental right guaranteed by the Second Amendment.

But, those who should want this most are people who grew up like me: blacks from the inner city, living in the projects. Good and decent people. They deserve to be safe too. They deserve security in their homes also. They are Americans, and the courts should respect their dignity and vindicate their rights.