The National Police Defense Foundation recently joined with eight other high profile and well established police organizations in filing an Amicus Curiae Brief (Friend of the Court) in the matter of District of Columbia vs. Heller. This case challenges a thirty-two year old Washington, DC law that bans handgun ownership within the District by law abiding people inside their homes. This case, known as District Of Columbia v. Heller, was brought by a security guard who could not keep a handgun in his home for self-defense and is the first to go before the Supreme Court since 1939. Anthony Heller thought it was the height of hypocrisy that he could carry a handgun to defend a federal building but could not keep one in his home to defend himself,
Supporters of the ban argue that there is no "individual right" to own a firearm. Rather, they say, the Second Amendment applies only to "the militia" or National Guard, which is responsible for our protection and only they have the right to keep and bear arms.
The NPDF believes that there is an individual right by law abiding Americans to own firearms and that the Founders recognized this when they wrote clearly into the Second Amendment, "...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." In March 2007, The U.S. Court Of Appeals for The D.C. Circuit overturned the D.C. gun ban and held that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own a firearm.
Oral arguments were heard before the United States Supreme Court on March 18, 2008 with conservative justices coming down on the side of the individual right scenario and liberal judges predictably siding with the collective right scenario. The swing vote appears to be Justice Kennedy who seems to be leaning toward the believe that the Second Amendment protects individual rights which would ultimately make the D.C. ban illegal.
The NPDF strongly supports individual gun ownership by law abiding citizens and understand that they are and have been an asset to law enforcement. A few notable examples where police and armed civilians worked together to thwart a threat:
August 1, 1966 - Texas Tower Incident where Charles Whitman murdered 17 people and wounded 31 before being shot by a police officer and a civilian volunteer.
January 16, 2002 - Appalachian Law School, Virginia - after killing a school dean, a professor and a student, Peter Odighizuwa, who was suspended for poor grades, was subdued by two students who had guns nearby inside their cars.
Hurricane Katrina - police and civilians worked together to stop murder, rape and robberies.
The NPDF will keep our members appraised of the ruling of the high court when it comes down.
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