SAF: Second Amendment Triumph: Justices Uphold Individual Right!


http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20080626/pl_usnw/second_amendment_triumph__justices_uphold_individual_right


Second Amendment Triumph: Justices Uphold Individual Right!


To: NATIONAL EDITORS

Contact: Alan Gottlieb of the Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, Wash., June 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With this
mornings ruling on the case of District of Columbia v. Heller,
America has begun its long march back toward liberty under a
Second Amendment that means what it says, the Second Amendment
Foundation said.

Todays ruling by the Supreme Court should forever put to rest any
contention that the right to keep and bear arms is not a
fundamental, individual civil right, said SAF founder Alan M.
Gottlieb. For six decades, anti-gun rights extremists have
engaged in a monumental fraud that has been unfortunately
perpetuated by activist judges who erroneously insisted that the
right to keep and bear arms applies only to service in a militia.

Wisdom and truth have triumphed over hysteria and falsehood, he
continued. This decision makes it clear that a right of the
people is a right enjoyed by, and affirmed for, all citizens. It
destroys a cornerstone of anti-gun rights elitism, which has
fostered - through years of deceit and political demagoguery -
the erosion of this important civil right.

This ruling also makes it abundantly clear that laws which ban
the possession of firearms, or make it simply impossible through
regulation for citizens to exercise their right to keep and bear
arms, are unconstitutional and cannot stand, Gottlieb stated.
Today, America has taken a small but significant step toward
restoring the Second Amendment to its proper place in our Bill of
Rights.

For too many years, he observed, Americans have seen this
fundamental civil right under constant and unrelenting attack. We
are hopeful that todays decision will halt an insidious campaign
for citizen disarmament through legislation and regulations that
have made our neighborhoods less safe, our cities less secure and
our people less self-reliant, which is the trait that has made
America unique among nations.

But this fight is hardly over, Gottlieb concluded. Todays ruling
is a stepping stone, the foundation upon which we can rebuild
this important individual right. Our work has only just begun.

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations
oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and
legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and
heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974,
the Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and
supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform
the public about the consequences of gun control.

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation

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