Gun ban ruling praised in Virginia

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By Larry O'Dell, ASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHMOND | The U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down the District's handgun ban was mostly well received Thursday in Virginia, a strong gun-rights state.

Several members of a General Assembly - which has repeatedly rejected gun-control proposals, even in the aftermath of last year's Virginia Tech shootings - praised the ruling as an affirmation of the fundamental right of law-abiding citizens to possess firearms for protection.

The decision also was popular among customers at Virginia Arms Co., salesman Robb Jensen said. He said the reaction at the Manassas firearms shop was "pretty celebratory," though the store and its patrons will not be directly affected by the court ruling.

"It seems that the opinion was written to show the real meaning of the Second Amendment, which is good," Mr. Jensen said. "It will sort of set a precedent when places try to outright say you cannot own a gun."

Virginia Arms and other gun stores in the state probably won't benefit much financially from the ruling. Federal law prohibits dealers from selling handguns to out-of-state residents, said Donna Tate, firearms transaction center manager for the Virginia State Police. The only way a D.C. resident will be able to buy a handgun from a Virginia shop is to pay extra to have it transferred to a licensed dealer in the District, then pick it up there, Mrs. Tate said.

Sen. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II, Fairfax Republican, said the court's decision was "a tremendous victory" for gun rights. Mr. Cuccinelli was so interested in the case that he attended the Supreme Court's oral arguments. He was disappointed only by the closeness of the decision.

"I'm shocked it was a mere 5-4 ruling," he said. "I'm just appalled. If you went around America and asked, you'd probably get a 90-10 response" in favor of overturning the handgun ban.

Sen. Patricia S. Ticer, Alexandria Democrat, was appalled for a different reason.

"How can that happen when you have a common sense deterrent to everyone solving disputes with a gun?" she said. "It makes me terribly sad that this country hasn't learned from other countries."

Sen. R. Edward Houck, Spotsylvania Democrat, said the decision complements Virginia's gun-rights position and assures D.C. residents have the same Second Amendment rights as people elsewhere.

"I never quite understood how if you live in one part of the U.S., you don't have the same constitutional protections that everyone else has," he said.