June 26, 2008 9:13 AM

"They'll have to shoot me first to take my gun" - Roy Rogers

Washington DC just became a less safe place to be. A ban on handguns has been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the justices upheld a lower court ruling striking down the ban, stating that individuals had a right to keep handguns for lawful purposes.

The DC city council contested that the ban was needed to help keep violence and murder rates down. But the measure was challenged by a security guard, Dick Heller. He argued that if he was allowed to have a handgun at work, he also had a constitutional right to have one at home.

The ruling is expected to have far reaching effects on gun laws across the US.
Working Assets/CREDO has long supported the work of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, one of the groups featured on our 2008 donations ballot. In a statement Paul Helmke, Executive Director, reiterates "Our fight to enact sensible gun laws will be undiminished by the Supreme Court's decision in the Heller case." Read his full statement here.

The last word goes to Eddie Izzard, British comedian:

"And the National Rifle Association says that, "Guns don't kill people, people do," but I think the gun helps, you know? I think it helps. I just think just standing there going, "Bang!" That's not going to kill too many people, is it? You'd have to be really dodgy on the heart to have that..."