Feingold LETTER: Court ruling protects gun-owning rights, CouleeNews.com 15 July 2010

Senator Russ Feingold said:

By U.S. Sen. RUSS FEINGOLD | Washington, D.C.
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Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment, protecting the right to bear arms, applies to the states, too, not just the federal government. This decision is good news for Wisconsin, which has a long and proud tradition of hunting and gun ownership.

The court’s ruling in McDonald v. Chicago is welcome confirmation that the right to bear arms is a fundamental right enjoyed by all Americans that cannot be infringed by the federal or state governments. It comes just two years after a landmark Supreme Court decision involving a handgun ban in Washington, D.C.

In the decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, the court recognized that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to citizens, not just a collective right to society. I have long believed that this is the correct interpretation of the Second Amendment, and I am pleased the court agreed. I hope the court will continue to respect the rights of law-abiding gun owners in the future.

During my career in public service, I’ve worked to preserve Wisconsin’s tradition of responsible gun use and to oppose unreasonable limitations on gun ownership. As a state senator, I was the lead co-sponsor of a proposed state constitutional amendment to establish the right to bear arms in Wisconsin, and as a member of the U.S. Senate, I’ve dedicated myself to ensuring that gun laws protect Wisconsinites’ rights.

Most recently, I supported an amendment to allow visitors to national parks to carry concealed weapons in states that permit them to do so, and I joined a legal brief in the McDonald case on the side of the gun owners.

I applaud this decision, which is huge news for gun owners. As Congress and the Supreme Court face questions in the future about the right to bear arms, I will keep working to defend citizens’ rights in communities across America. Wisconsin’s tradition of safe gun-ownership is a model for the nation, and I will continue to fight for strong Second Amendment protections for all Americans.

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