http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1216420513...in_commentaries

Let's give the guy a little space...(from the link):

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Alan Gura...
...
Mr. Gura says he set out "to do a careful, strategic litigation on the issue." One court that had not yet taken a position on the Second Amendment's meaning was the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. As it happened, the nation's capital had the most restrictive gun law in the country: a total ban on handguns, and a requirement that shotguns and rifles be kept disassembled or locked within the home.

To challenge the law, Mr. Gura says, "it was very important for us to pick decent, law-abiding people . . . . We consciously wanted to have plaintiffs from across the demographic spectrum in Washington, D.C. We wanted all manner of diversity, because it's important -- people want to see that you are arguing for a right that is held by ordinary people."

Mr. Gura tells me his clients' stories: "Shelly Parker . . . is an African-American lady who moved to a part of Capitol Hill that was improving, but apparently not fast enough. [She] would call the police, get the neighbors involved, to try to get the drug dealers off the street. The drug dealers figured out fairly quickly what the source of their problem was and started harassing her, subjecting her to all kinds of threats, vandalism and so on. . . .

"Dick Heller is a special police officer of the District of Columbia . . . . When we started this suit, he was guarding -- with a gun -- the Federal Judicial Center on Capitol Hill . . . . But Mr. Heller was not allowed to have a gun in his own home for self-defense. . . .

"Tom Palmer is a Cato scholar, a gay man who had previously, in California, fended off a hate crime using a firearm that he happened to have on him. He is alive today, or at least avoided serious injury, because he was able to have access to a gun when he needed it. . . .

"Gillian St. Lawrence is a mortgage broker in Georgetown. . . . [She had] a lawfully registered shotgun, but . . . had to always keep that shotgun unloaded and disassembled, or bound by trigger lock. There was no exception for home self-defense. . . . Of course, she asserted the right to have a functional firearm. If you're allowed to have guns, you're allowed to have guns that actually work as such. We're gratified that both the D.C. Circuit and the Supreme Court agreed with us on that proposition." They did -- but it was close. The circuit-court panel that ruled in his clients' favor split 2-1.

When the case reached the Supreme Court, Mr. Levy says he came under pressure to replace the young Mr. Gura, who had never argued a case before the high court, with a veteran litigator like Ted Olson, Ken Starr or Miguel Estrada. No dice, Mr. Levy replied. He had a commitment, and besides, Mr. Gura "had been immersed in this issue for 5½ years . . . so he knew the material cold."

The results speak for themselves. All nine justices agreed that the Second Amendment established an individual right. But four dissenters offered an interpretation of that right so cramped as to render it a nullity.

"My biggest surprise is that it was 5-4," Mr. Gura says. "I thought the case was much stronger than 5-4. . . . However, I'll take the five and be very happy with that."
...

I agree in both cases...
and now the decision has inspired Smith & Wesson:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5423395&page=1



Smith & Wesson To Make Commemorative Revolver
Smith & Wessons Creates New Gun in Honor of Supreme Court Ruling
July 22, 2008—


Smith & Wesson is manufacturing a commemorative revolver in honor of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that backed the right of individuals to own guns for self-defense.

The Springfield-based gun maker announced Monday it would present engraved Model 442 revolvers to the six plaintiffs in the lawsuit that led to the high court's June 26 decision striking down a handgun ban in the District of Columbia.

The commemorative revolvers, made in partnership with the Second Amendment Foundation, will be sold in the fall, with a portion of sales going to the pro-gun legal group.

Smith & Wesson said the gun's right-side plate will be engraved with the words "D.C. vs. Heller" on a scale of justice, which is tipped toward Heller. "Second Amendment" and "The right to keep and bear arms" will appear below the scale.

Anybody looking for a Christmas present?

When Heller went to register his 8-shot semi-automatic pistol...he was denied.
Back to court, anyone?

They must be masochists.

Good Case Cartoon

and a few others for those with a sense of humor...

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/56317/

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/56376/

http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/56181/