DC's Gun Right Now Apply To Western States

Jillian Bandes | April 20, 2009 6:25 PM

The landmark Heller decision that permitted DC residents to have guns in limited capacities inside their own homes has now been extended to the Ninth Circuit, which covers most western states. The court found that the Fourteenth Amendment -- which extends most of the protections in the Bill of Rights from the federal to the state level -- also applies to the second Amendment. From

Ilya Shapiro on the Cato Institute's blog:

In short, residents of Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington now join D.C. residents in having their Second Amendment rights protected. And courts covering other parts of the country — most immediately the Seventh Circuit, based in Chicago — will have their chance to make the same interpretation in due course.

Shapiro highlights a footnote by Ninth Circuit Judge Diarmuid O’Scannlain, which could have significant implications for the way the Second Amendment it viewed in future rulings.

Some may disagree with the decision of the Founders to enshrine a given right in the Constitution. If so, then the people can amend the document. But such amendments are not for the courts to ordain.