U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy is applauding a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the District of Columbia’s tough restrictions on gun ownership.
Leahy says Vermonters will be relieved and encouraged to learn that their Second Amendment right to bear arms has been reaffirmed.
The court ruled against a 1976 Washington, D.C., law that banned handguns and allowed rifles and shotguns only if they are registered, kept unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks.
Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he sees the ruling as continuing to allow the government to try to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. But he says government firearms regulations must take into account the right to bear arms.