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In the United States, the right to keep and bear arms is GUARANTEED!

Amendment II UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

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.

On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court of the United States held that Americans have an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense in the case District of Columbia v. Heller.

 

Supreme Court Decides Second
Amendment Case
 
The Supreme Court votes 5 to 4 to strike down a
Washington, D. C. ban on the private possession of handguns.
 Justice Scalia authors majority opinion.
 


In District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) the Court considered the following question: Do D.C. Code Section 7-2502.02(a)(4), which generally bars the registration of handguns; Section 22-4504(a), which bars carrying a pistol without a license; and Section 7-2507.02, which requires that all lawfully owned firearms be kept unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock, violate the Second Amendment rights of individuals who are not affiliated with any state-regulated militia, but who wish to keep handguns and other firearms for private use in their homes? 
The Court concluded that the Second Amendment does establish an individual right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and hunting.  The Court concluded that the D.C. gun ban could not stand.  At the same time, the Court recognized that the government can regulate gun rights.  The Court said its decision should not be interpreted to question the right of government to: prohibit felons and the mentally ill from owning weapons, prohibit guns in schools or public buildings, ban certain categories of guns not commonly used for self-defense, and to establish certain other conditions on gun ownership.