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Cities can’t ban handguns, court says

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By Jack Torry, Washington Bureau 8:56 PM Monday, June 28, 2010

WASHINGTON — A divided U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory to gun advocates on Monday, June 28, striking down city bans on the private ownership of handguns.

At the same time, the justices made clear that states and local governments could still regulate the possession and use of other types of weapons.

The 5-4 decision by a deeply fractured court would appear to have little impact on Ohio because neither the state nor local governments prohibit ownership of handguns. A 2006 state law passed despite the veto of Gov. Bob Taft swept away local laws in Dayton that had banned possession of assault weapons.

“Within the state of Ohio, it will be the same tomorrow afternoon as it was yesterday afternoon,’’ said Ken Hanson, legislative chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

The case grew out of a handgun ban in the city of Chicago. The court’s five most conservative justices concluded that the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms covers state and local governments, as well as the federal government; and the 14th Amendment prohibits states from denying people their rights and protections.

The ruling was not unexpected. Just two years ago in District of Columbia v. Heller, the same five conservative justices struck down a gun ban in Washington, D.C. However, because Washington is a federal city, it was unclear until Monday whether the Second Amendment also prohibited cities and states from banning ownership of handguns.

Writing for the majority, Justice Samuel Alito limited his ruling to handguns. In a clear signal that the court might approve some regulations, Alito wrote that the court “made clear in Heller that our holdings did not cast doubt on such long-standing regulatory measures’’ as prohibiting felons and the mentally ill from owning guns or preventing people from carrying guns into schools or government buildings.

“That’s probably the most important paragraph in the whole thing,’’ said Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. “The Second Amendment is not an excuse not to do something positive. Our legislators need to stop using it as an excuse.’’

In his dissent, Justice John Paul Stevens warned that the decision “could prove far more destructive — quite literally — to our nation’s communities,’’ than the Heller ruling had been.

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