Coburn Applauds Supreme Court for Ruling that Reaffirms the Second Amendment as an Individual Right

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Coburn Applauds Supreme Court for Ruling that Reaffirms the Second Amendment as an Individual Right

U.S. Senator Tom Coburn, M.D. (R-OK) released the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the D.C. handgun ban.

"While Congress has failed to act, I am grateful that the Supreme Court has belatedly weighed in on this matter and ruled that the D.C. handgun ban is unconstitutional. This is an historic decision and Congress must ensure that the Second Amendment rights of Americans remain protected," Dr. Coburn said.

"Washington, D.C., for more than 30 years has prohibited law-abiding Americans from owning a handgun, rifle, or shotgun even in their own home to defend themselves and their families from intruders and blatantly disregarded a Constitutional Right in the name of protecting D.C. residents," Dr. Coburn said.

"Americans understand that the Second Amendment, like the first Amendment, recognizes an individual right," Dr. Coburn added. "Our founders emphasized the importance of this right to protect ourselves. George Washington stated that, ‘[N]o man should scruple or hesitate a moment to use arms in defense.' President James Madison, a signer of the Constitution, wrote, ‘The advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation… forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any which a simple government of any form can admit of.'"

In 2005, 154 gun deaths occurred - a ratio of 2.7 deaths for every 10,000 residents - in Washington, D.C. In contrast, in the two most urban Virginia counties bordering Washington, D.C., there were a combined 23 deaths - ratios of 0.5 and 0.9 deaths for every 10,000 residents. Law-abiding Virginia residents may protect themselves from violence in their own homes and may also conceal carry firearms in most places if they receive a conceal carry permit.

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