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State Handgun Bans Clash with US Supreme Court 2nd Amendment Ruling

By Lependorf & Silverstein

In late June 2010, the US Supreme Court decided the issue of the constitutionality of whether certain people could be restricted from owning guns. In McDonald v. City of Chicago, the issue arose of whether the 2nd Amendment?s right to bear arms was applicable to state laws. The Supreme Court held that the 2nd Amendment does in fact apply to the states. The reason for the controversy surrounding one?s right to bear arms stemmed from the City of Chicago?s ban on handguns for domestic violence offenders. Studies have found that in instances of domestic violence where the offender possesses a handgun, the victim is more likely to be killed. Thus, Chicago instituted the ban as a preventative measure. According to a Huffington Post story, opponents of the City?s handgun ban challenged the constitutionality of the measure, which was sent to the Chicago Federal Appeals Court...continue to full post

Full post as published by New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog on July 22, 2010 (boomark / email).