A questão do uso de arma e a Corte Suprema

US Supreme Court extends gun rightsPage last updated at 21:59 GMT, Monday,
> 28 June 2010 22:59 UKE-mail this to a friendPrintable versionSome cities
> like Chicago have strict firearms rulesThe US Supreme Court has restricted
> the rights of state and city governments to enforce controls on gun
> ownership.The US's highest court ruled by 5-4 that a ban on handgun
> ownership in the city of Chicago was unconstitutional.Justices said the US
> Constitution protected the right to keep and bear arms for the purpose of
> self-defence.The ruling could potentially change laws on gun ownership in
> many of the 50 US states.Continue reading the main storyA 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 infringedSecond AmendmentAs
> passed by CongressSupreme Court rulingQ&A: Supreme Court decisionDebate
> over the exact meaning of the constitutional right to keep and bear arms
> has raged for years in the US.The amendment reads: "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."Two years ago, the
> court ruled a ban on handguns in Washington DC was unconstitutional -
> declaring that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to
> possess guns, at least for purposes of self-defence in the home.But
> Washington is a federal city, with a unique legal standing.Gun rights
> proponents almost immediately filed a federal lawsuit challenging gun
> control laws in Chicago, Illinois, and its suburb of Oak Park, where
> handguns have been banned for nearly 30 years.ANALYSISContinue reading the
> main storyPaul Adams,
> BBC News, WashingtonA defining moment in the history of gun ownership in
> America? Or a symbolic ruling with limited practical consequences?As
> always, when it comes to guns and the law, it depends on where you
> stand.In one sense, the Supreme Court's ruling is quite narrow. It upholds
> the right of individuals to keep handguns at home for the purposes of
> self-protection.The ruling makes it clear that this does not mean that all
> laws governing gun ownership in America are now in doubt.But for the first
> time, the US Supreme Court has offered a clear definition of national
> significance of 27 much debated words written in 1789.Supporters of gun
> ownership, who've long argued that this strangely worded and punctuated
> statement means that individuals should be allowed to carry guns, have
> hailed today's ruling as a victory.The Supreme Court signalled its
> intentions two years ago, when it struck down a handgun ban in the
> District of Columbia.Coming on the very day that confirmation hearings
> began for a moderate replacement for a retiring liberal justice, its
> latest gun control ruling serves as a reminder that the current Supreme
> Court is one in which conservatives hold sway.In Monday's ruling on that
> challenge the justices said the Second Amendment right "applies equally to
> the federal government and the states".Correspondents say the ruling will
> be seen as a blow to efforts to reduce the role of firearms in American
> life.The justices seen as the more liberal - Stevens, Breyer, Ginsburg and
> Sotomayor - voted against the latest ruling.The case was brought by four
> Chicago residents as well as local firearms rights activists and the
> National Rifle Association.The latest Supreme Court decision does not
> explicitly strike down the Chicago area laws, but it orders a federal
> appeals court to reconsider its ruling - leaving little doubt that the
> laws will eventually be overturned.The NRA welcomed the "landmark
> decision" of the court."The NRA will work to ensure this constitutional
> victory is not transformed into a practical defeat by activist judges,
> defiant city councils or cynical politicians who seek to pervert, reverse
> or nullify the Supreme Court's McDonald decision," said NRA executive
> vice-president Wayne LaPierre.New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an ardent
> proponent of gun control, said the ruling allows cities "to keep guns out
> of the hands of criminals and terrorists while at the same time respecting
> the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens".The Supreme Court's
> decision follows a weekend in which 29 people in Chicago were shot, three
> of them fatally, according to local media.The Chicago Sun-Times reported
> that 54 people were shot, 10 of whom died, the previous weekend as well.