Gun Battle in the US Supreme Court

Making News

Obama Speaks on Race and His Pastor ()

Today in Philadelphia, Senator Barack Obama repeated his objections to the controversial sermons delivered by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of his Chicago church. In a campaign speech, Obama said it was time for America to "move beyond some of our old racial wounds." New York Times reporter Jeff Zeleny was at the speech.

Guests:

• Jeff Zeleny: Congressional Correspondent, New York Times

Links:

• Ronald Kessler's article on Rev. Wright's 'hatred of America'

Main Topic

The Supreme Court Considers the Right to Bear Arms ()

Today the US Supreme Court heard arguments that have been percolating for more than 200 years on the meaning of these 27 words: "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." The case was brought by a private security guard who guarded a federal office building and wanted the right to take his revolver home at the end of his shift. "They give me a gun to protect them," Dick Heller says of the government, "but I'm a second-class citizen when I finish work." Attorneys seek to overturn the ban on registering handguns in the capital, the ban on having a concealed weapon at home and the requirement that any licensed riffles or shotguns stored at home be unloaded and locked. Does the Second Amendment grant each of us an uninfringeable right to bear arms or was it intended to provide arms only for a well-regulated militia?

Guests:

• Emma Schwartz: Reporter, US News and World Report
• Robert Levy: Senior Fellow, Cato Institute
• Paul Helmke: President, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence
• Joyce Malcolm: Professor of Law, George Mason University
• Jack Rakove: Professor of Political Science, Stanford University

Links:

• Emerson case
• Parker v District of Columbia, Court of Appeals on
• Schwartz's article on friend-of-the-court briefs
• Levy on the Bush briefs and Supreme Court gun battle (video)
• Brady Center's brief in favor of the District of Columbia's gun-control law
• Malcolm's 'To Keep and Bear Arms: The Origins of An Anglo American Right'
• Rakove's brief in support of the District of Columbia's gun-control law

Reporter's Notebook

Dalai Lama to Step Down if Tibet Gets 'Out of Control' ()

It was 50 years ago last week that the Dalai Lama fled Tibet, an anniversary that has been marked by deadly protests inside the country. Although details are scarce, since the Chinese government has banned foreign journalists from entering Tibet, cell phone images and clandestine phone calls from Lhasa have provided some specifics from the clashes, which may have left as many as 80 dead. Somini Sengupta, New Delhi Bureau Chief for the New York Times, is in Dharamsala, India, where the Dalai Lama lives in exile.

Guests:

• Somini Sengupta: New Delhi Bureau Chief, New York Times