And it's especially interesting to note where the two presidential hopefuls shake out here.
-- WASHINGTON -- John McCain welcomed a Supreme Court decision invalidating a District of Columbia handgun ban. Barack Obama sought to straddle the subject by saying he favors an individual's right to bear firearms as well as a government's right to regulate them.McCain, to his credit, doesn't mince words.
"This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms."Obama, on the other hand, and not for the first time... tries to spin this thing both ways.
In other instances, Obama refused to articulate a position when asked whether he thought the D.C. ban was constitutional.I happen to believe that, in a democracy, the rights of law-abiding citizens are way up near the top of the page.
The campaign would not answer directly Thursday when asked whether the candidate agreed with the court that the D.C. ban was unconstitutional, simply pointing back to his statement.
Maybe Barack Obama should stop trying to play both sides of the street... and decide whether that's important to him as well.
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UPDATE: CTV does it again
Just watched Lloyd and company, during a report on this very story... (a handgun ban in Washington, DC)... run a montage of images of various persons noisily firing machine guns.
How's that for journalistic integrity?
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LAST WORD: What's up with the Supremes?
The Supreme Court Second Amendment decision comes on the heels of decisions to allow enemy combatants access to the American legal system and striking down death penalties for child rapists.*
The decisions exemplify the fault lines in American political opinion and how they are played out in the courts.