Buckeye Firearms group applauds Supreme Court gun ruling

DELAWARE, Ohio -- The Buckeye Firearms Association says there will be a nationwide impact beyond Washington D. C., following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday.

By a vote of 5-4, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a fundamental, individual right to keep a firearm in your own home, the association said, in a statement.

The ruling was handed down following a challenge to the Washington D.C. complete ban on handguns. The court said Americans have a right to keep guns at home for self-defense.

"People living in D.C. have the right to possess firearms in their own homes, and D.C.'s law, which amounted to a ban, violated that right," Buckeye Firearms attorney Ken Hanson said.

Hanson addded that, even though the decision is limited to this specific (city), the case will clearly have nationwide impact in the coming years as it is tested and applied against cities in lawsuits throughout the United States.

The Buckeye Web site also has a "countdown" until Ohio's "Castle Doctrine" becomes law in the state, a countdown that, as of June 27, had reached 74 days.

That doctrine, recently signed into law by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, gives Ohioans the right to defend their home with a gun.

The doctrine played off the metaphor that "a man's home is his castle," thus giving it the name.

The Buckeye Firearms Foundation, together with a coalition of private security companies, filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in the Washington D.C. lawsuit.

With this decision, the court "signaled an unequivocal end to the two-decade legal charade popularly referred to as the 'collectivisttheory,'" the Buckeye statement read.

"Your right to possess a firearm in your own home is an individual right and has nothing to do with your role, or lack of role, in any militia. Prior to (Thursday's)decision, the majority of the federal court circuits had utilized the collectivist theory, mostly as a means to uphold criminal convictions for violations of federal firearm laws. Clearly, bad facts make bad law, and (Thursday's)decision is the reprieve gun owners have been looking for."

Buckeye Firearms Association is a grassroots political action committee dedicated to defending and advancing the right of Ohio citizens to own and use firearms for all legal activities, including self-defense, hunting,ompetition, and recreation.