An American’s home is his arsenal

For millions of Americans the political highpoint of 2008 is now behind them. The precise day is forever inscribed in their hearts as one of glorious ratification of one of America's core freedoms: June 26, when the US Supreme Court for the first time affirmed by a narrow majority of 5-4 the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

The decision was a frightful blow to the gun controllers. "This is a decision that will cost innocent lives, cause immeasurable pain and suffering and turn America into a more dangerous country," wailed the New York Times in an editorial. "A frightening decision and a return to the days of the Wild West," said Mayor Richard M Daley of Chicago, a city

to which gunfire has been street muzak for many decades.

The Supreme Court decision was written by the court's peppery ultra-conservative, Justice Antonin Scalia, who became positively lyrical in his paean to the handgun: "There are many reasons that a citizen may prefer a handgun for home defence: it is easier to store in a location that is readily accessible in an emergency; it cannot easily be redirected or wrestled away by an attacker; it is easier to use for those without the upper-body strength to lift and aim a long gun; it can be pointed at a burglar with one hand while the other hand dials the police. Whatever the reason, handguns are the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defence in the home, and a complete prohibition of their use is invalid."

Oddly enough, considering the endless political battling over gun rights, the nation's highest court has only once before ruled on the citizens' inherent right to bear arms, and that was in the Roosevelt era. Gun control was one of the prime goals of the New