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A seemingly never-ending flood of proposed anti-gun legislation in recent years has sometimes made Cameron, manager of Kinsey's Outdoors in Mount Joy, feel as though he was doing something wrong in keeping and shooting guns, he said.
That all changed for Cameron Thursday, however, when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a ban on handguns in Washington, D.C., ruling that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual the right to keep and bear arms.
"It feels like the honest man has been vindicated," Cameron said. "You don't have to feel like a criminal just because you own a handgun.
"It's comforting to know that, at least in some respects, the government is on your side as a gun owner."
Although the Supreme Court's ruling was aimed at a Washington, D.C., law, state Rep. Bryan Cutler of Peach Bottom, who is an avid hunter and shooting enthusiast, said it impacts all gun owners.
And it's a ruling that Cutler said is likely to be cheered in every corner of Lancaster County, which has dozens of shooting clubs and which accounted for the third-highest number of licenses sold to hunters in the state last year — more than 32,000. Only Allegheny and Westmoreland counties sold more.
"They've affirmed once and for all that, unequivocally, it is a ... right to have guns for any lawful purpose, including self-defense," Cutler said.
Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, who has lobbied the state Legislature for some gun control measures, including requiring gun owners to report when their firearms are lost or stolen, said he believes the ruling opens the door for discussions "about what is reasonable regulation of firearms.""The ruling says gun ownership is a right, and with certain rights come certain responsibilities," Gray said. "I will continue to work for reasonable restrictions that will keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people and for being used for the wrong reasons.
"It's unfortunate that we have instruments in our society that can be used for enjoyment and relaxation and for hunting, which can also be used for shootouts on our streets."
Joe Keffer, owner of The Sportsman's Shop in New Holland, summed up his opinion of the ruling in one word Thursday afternoon.
"Hooray," he said.
Keffer called the ruling a "landmark decision," because the Supreme Court had never definitively interpreted the Second Amendment, which was ratified in 1791.
"Historians have been arguing for a long time whether or not the amendment guarantees the right to own firearms to individuals or militias," he said.
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."
"Several attorney generals have stated through the years that it applies to individuals," Keffer said. "But this is the first time the supreme law of the land has said an individual can own a firearm."
(275) (151) (66) (27) (19) (16) (10) (10) (3) (2)In handing down their ruling Thursday, the nine Supreme Court justices voted 5-4 against the District of Columbia's ban on handguns.
Keffer said he wished the majority vote had more support, just to send a message to anti-gun activists that their proposals are likely to be struck down in the future.
No matter how many justices voted against the ban, however, Keffer said he doesn't expect challenges to gun ownership to stop.
"There are people out there who think no one should be allowed to own guns no matter what," he said.
But with Thursday's ruling in place, Cutler said those challenges will face bigger obstacles.
"Before (the ruling) we had the logical argument" that the Second Amendment guaranteed our right to keep and bear arms, Cutler said.
"Now, we have the legal argument to back us up."
E-mail: preilly@lnpnews.com
