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Bob McDonnell on Gun Control |
As Attorney General, Bob filed an amicus brief in support of the individual right to bear arms in the case of Heller v. District of Columbia, which challenged the District's outright ban on personal handgun ownership. He was a vocal and active supporter of this position, and said the following when the Supreme Court ruled against the District's ban: "I am pleased by today's historic decision. The Court has recognized that the Second Amendment clearly protects the individual right to keep and bear arms. This basic right was so important to our Founders that they recognized it in the Bill of Rights. It is a fundamental individual right that government must respect and protect."
As governor, Bob will continue to defend the constitutional rights of Virginians to keep and bear arms.
McDonnell says if justices base their ruling on the intentions of the authors of the Constitution, they'll conclude that owning a gun is an individual right. McDonnell says "Because at the time of its writing everybody was a member of a militia and today everybody potentially could be called up in some capacity to help defend their property, their person or their nation."
Virginia is the 3rd state to sign on to the friend-of-the-court brief. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in March and should make a decision by June. The case marks the first time the court has reviewed the original intent of the Second Amendment in 70 years
