In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled the Second Amendment does protect an individual's right to bear arms, striking down the Washington, D.C, ban on handguns. Media accounts of the decision vacillate between the decision's "historic" nature and an expectation it will have "limited impact," at least in the near future.
The AP reports, "Silent on central questions of gun control for two centuries, the Supreme Court found its voice Thursday in a decision affirming the right to have guns for self-defense in the home and addressing a constitutional riddle almost as old as the republic over what it means to say the people may keep and bear arms." The Washington Post reports the "landmark 5 to 4 decision split along ideological grounds and wiped away years of lower court decisions that had held that the intent of the amendment, ratified more than 200 years ago, was to tie the right of gun possession to militia service."
The decision was the lead story on each of the networks, which noted the historic nature of the opinion. ABC World News reported, "Even as it settled the Constitutional question, by striking down Washington, DC's handgun ban, the closely-divided court set off a new debate, about what kinds of gun laws are permissible." The CBS Evening News reported, "This is one for the history books - the first-ever Supreme Court declaration that Americans have the right to own a gun for self-protection."
NBC Nightly News reported, "The decision is a huge victory for advocates of gun rights, and for Dick Heller, of Washington, DC, who challenged the city's strict ban on handguns." USA Today reports the "historic decision Thursday carving out an individual right to gun ownership immediately cast doubt on gun restrictions nationwide, as firearms-rights advocates prepared to file a new round of lawsuits testing the scope of the ruling." The New York Times reports in a front-page story that the court "rejected the view that the Second Amendment's 'right of the people to keep and bear arms' applied to gun ownership only in connection with service in the 'well regulated militia' to which the amendment refers."
The Wall Street Journal reports in a front-page story that the court "stopped short of invalidating other local, state and federal gun regulations." The Washington Times reports Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty "vowed to enact a registration process that would allow the District to regulate gun ownership, while an emboldened National Rifle Association -- the Northern Virginia-based gun lobby that helped make overturning the D.C. ban a cause celebre -- set its sights on new legal fights to free gun owners from government restrictions."
The Christian Science Monitor reports dissenting Justice Stephen Breyer "said the case would spawn unfortunate consequences." Breyer said, "The decision threatens to throw into doubt the constitutionality of gun laws throughout the United States. I can find no sound legal basis for launching the courts on so formidable and potentially dangerous a mission."
Little Immediate Impact Seen. The Wall Street Journal reports the impact of the decision in Washington "will be minimal for one big reason: It will remain almost impossible to buy a gun." Washington has "no federally licensed gun stores, so nowhere in the city can residents buy a handgun legally. Under federal law, buying one in neighboring Maryland or Virginia isn't an option either. If gun dealers sell a firearm to a nonresident, they have to ship it to a licensed dealer in the purchaser's home state, which then conducts the relevant background checks."
The Houston Chronicle reports that in Houston on Thursday "to address 800 law officers attending a state conference on street gangs, the Bush administration's chief firearms-law enforcer said the ruling won't affect how he does his job." Michael Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said, "There is nothing in terms of first blush to say it will significantly change our business."
The New York Times reports most "state and city gun restrictions appear to be allowed under the ruling, including licensing laws, limits on the commercial sale of guns, restrictions on guns in places like schools and government buildings and prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill."
Decision Expected To Spur Challenges In a second front-page story, the Washington Post reports advocacy groups "braced for new skirmishes, both in courts and in legislatures. Gun rights advocates, hailing what they called a historic milestone, immediately targeted other jurisdictions with laws similar to those in the District of Columbia, whose handgun ban was struck down yesterday."
ABC World News reported, "Tomorrow, in San Francisco, the first in an expected avalanche of legal challenges to gun laws as a result of today's ruling. A lawsuit against the city, which bans handguns in public housing."
The Washington Times reports within "minutes of the Supreme Court ruling overturning the District's gun ban, leaders of the National Rifle Association began work on legal challenges against gun restrictions in Chicago and San Francisco, while gun-control groups said the decision would only strengthen their efforts."
The Washington Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, the AP, and Long Island Newsday all cover the fallout from the court's decision.
McCain Welcomes Decision; Obama Ambivalent The AP reports John McCain "welcomed" the decision "invalidating a District of Columbia handgun ban," while Barack Obama "sought to straddle the subject by saying he favors an individual's right to bear firearms as well as a government's right to regulate them."
Case Seen As Scalia's Legacy USA Today reports Justice Scalia "authored one of the most significant rulings ever in a case that was tailor-made for his personal quest: trying to discern the original intention of the men who drafted the Constitution."
North Korea yesterday submitted a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear program, prompting President Bush to announce yesterday his intentions to ease trade sanctions against Pyongyang and move to take it off a US list of state sponsors of terrorism. Pyongyang imploded its main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon at about 3:00 a.m. EDT today, according to the AP. The Administration's move was still overwhelmingly met with skepticism in the media, noting doubts about whether North Korea can be trusted and warnings that verifying the declaration could be difficult.
President Bush himself, the AP reports, "emphasized that he was aware that Pyongyang had lied about its nuclear capabilities before." Said the President, "I'm under no illusions. This isn't the end of the process. This is the beginning of the process of action for action." He also "rattled off a list of ongoing US concerns about North Korea." Echoing Bush's remarks, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the AP reports, cautioned that the declaration "is not enough for the United States to begin normalizing ties" with Pyongyang.
The Financial Times calls both moves taken President Bush "largely symbolic measures," while ABC World News said they signal "a major policy shift" in the Administration. NBC Nightly News reported yesterday's breakthrough "could be the final chapter in the Cold War," but former UN nuclear inspector David Albright warned: "Now the hard part starts, which is verifying the numbers in the declaration, and getting to the point where North Korea is actually showing the plutonium to the United States."
In similar reporting, the CBS Evening News called the move "a remarkable change in US policy." But CBS also noted the declaration contained "nothing about the nuclear weapons they do have, nothing about their uranium-enrichment program, and nothing about how North Korea is proliferating nuclear technology around the world."
On its front page, the Washington Post reports nuclear weapons experts "had mixed reactions" to declaration. "There is some important progress represented by the agreement, but it's a worrisome omission with regard to Syria and highly enriched uranium," said Michael J. Green, a former Korea specialist on the National Security Council until 2005.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the six countries "hope to stage another formal negotiating round in Beijing in coming weeks that will focus on what North Korea wants in exchange for giving up the nuclear components and weapons it has built."
The Los Angeles Times says Bush "cautioned that the North Koreans still must agree to a 'rigorous verification protocol' to ensure that they have fully disclosed the extent of their plutonium program so that all weapons-grade material can be accounted for and eventually removed." USA Today quotes Bush saying, "We will trust you only to the extent you fulfill your promises." The Washington Times and Christian Science Monitor also report on Bush's move.
On Capitol Hill yesterday, the AP reports, "Conservative Republicans, who want the US to take an even tougher stance against North Korea, were incensed at Bush's action." The Politico has a similar report. In an news analysis, the New York Times says the declaration "is a triumph of the sort of diplomacy -- complicated, plodding, often frustrating -- that President Bush and his aides once eschewed as American weakness."
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Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, David Addington, and former Justice Department official John Yoo yesterday appeared before the House Judiciary Committee, where lawmakers confronted them with harsh questions about the US' post 9/11 interrogation policy. The Washington Post reports, "Two key architects of the Bush administration's controversial interrogation policies defended their legal positions yesterday, sparring with House Democrats over whether discredited Justice Department opinions led to mistreatment of military and CIA detainees." The Wall Street Journal reports members of the committee "got scant new information from Mr. Addington, an enigmatic figure who rarely speaks in public, and from another witness, John Yoo, who during his tenure in the Justice Department helped draft what critics call the 'torture memos.'"
The AP reports Addington "refused to claim any responsibility for the adoption of harsh interrogation methods following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks during a combative exchange with congressional Democrats." Addington "denied several reports that he was involved in the drafting of a key memo that the Justice Department later rescinded."
The AP reports the Senate yesterday delayed voting on a bill amending the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, "in spite of what appeared to be overwhelming support for the bill." Sen. Russell Feingold "and more than a dozen other senators who oppose telecom immunity threw up procedural delays that threatened to force the Senate into a midnight or weekend session."
USA Today reports the Supreme Court "ruled that the so-called 'millionaire's amendment' violates self-funded candidates' First Amendment right to free speech." The law "is triggered when House candidates donate more than $350,000 to their campaigns," and once "the provision kicks in for self-financed House candidates, their opponents can raise up to $6,900 per donor in each election -- three times the normal limit."
The Washington Post reports the court "dealt another blow yesterday to the landmark 2002 campaign finance law crafted by Sens. John McCain and Russell Feingold, declaring unconstitutional a provision that eased fundraising restrictions for political candidates running against wealthy opponents who were bankrolling their own bids for federal office." Roll Call reports the court said the law "designed to protect Members who are facing wealthy challengers [is] 'fundamentally at war' with federal campaign expenditure and contribution limits."
The New York Times reports the Supreme Court "has upheld campaign finance laws meant to drive the potentially corrupting influence of large contributions out of politics. But the millionaire's amendment, part of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, is based on a different rationale: that of compensating for the additional financial resources available to candidates willing to spend their own money." The Wall Street Journal reports "campaign-finance-overhaul advocates were disappointed by the court's decision, arguing that the amendment had helped level the playing field in congressional races."
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Coverage of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign in the latest news cycle continues to focus on his delicate relationship with Sen. Hillary Clinton and her core supporters. The CBS Evening News reported, "This month, a long and bitter Democratic campaign ended" with Clinton backing Obama, but Thursday evening was a "key moment for him with her most valuable supporters." CBS added that at a fundraiser that both attended last night at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, Clinton "is asking her top contributors to open their wallets to the man who defeated her, while she seeks a favor from him" help in retiring her campaign debt. CBS adds that Obama "sounds open, if not all that excited" at the prospect of aiding her, and said, "If they want to make contributions, then I think there's nothing wrong with them doing so." The AP reports that in a "symbolic gesture, Obama delivered a personal check for $4,600, for himself and his wife, Michelle. The maximum individual donation allowed by law is $2,300."
The Washington Post reports the two senators "showered each other with praise" at the event. Clinton "spoke first at the event, telling her disappointed supporters that Democrats 'are a family, and we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to win back this White House.'" The Chicago Tribune adds that Obama "offered a tribute to Clinton," saying that her "quest to become the first female president had touched even members of his own family."
The New York Daily News reports, "Insiders said the meeting with Clinton donors went as well as could be expected, but strain still showed, in spite of the warm words." The New York Post reports, "One person who attended the meeting made an explicit request that Obama put Clinton on the ticket. Obama went on to the next question, according to Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Queens/Brooklyn). When asked about what role Clinton would play in the convention, Obama said he wasn't going to negotiate, according to sources."
Obama may have some lingering anger at Clinton, according to one report. The Hill reports Obama said at a meeting last week with members of the Congressional Black Caucus that "he bit his tongue 'many times' during the fierce primary battle" against Clinton.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports this morning that Sen. Barack Obama was in Pittsburgh yesterday to woo backers in a part of Pennsylvania that was not friendly to him during the primary. Obama "joined an A-list panel of business, labor and education leaders at Carnegie Mellon University in a wide-ranging conversation on the roles of energy innovation, education and infrastructure improvements as foundations of prosperity." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says Obama "used Pittsburgh as his stage to ask Americans for a mandate to implement a national health care plan if he's elected president." The event including "13 prominent panelists from labor, industry and academia to participate in" the "economic summit," including "General Motors CEO Richard Wagoner, America Online co-founder Steve Case, U.S. Steel CEO John P. Surma, Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Susan Hockfield and Service Employees International Union President Andy Stern."
The Los Angeles Times reports that as expected, Sen. Barack Obama "consolidated his organized labor support" yesterday, picking up the backing of the AFL-CIO "that puts much of Hillary Rodham Clinton's union muscle behind his bid for the White House." The Hill reports AFL-CIO President John Sweeney "praised the candidate's record," saying, "He's a champion for working families who knows what it's going to take to create an economy that works for everyone, not just Big Oil, Big Pharma, the insurance companies, the giant mortgage lenders, speculators and the very wealthy." The AP reports, "Between the AFL-CIO and its chief rival, the Change to Win labor organization, the nation's labor movement plans to spend around $300 million on the 2008 elections. Change to Win, made up of seven powerful unions that broke away from the AFL-CIO in 2005, already has endorsed Obama."
The AP reports that in Cincinnati, Ohio, yesterday, Sen. John McCain "wooed undecided voters with his plans for economic reform and alternative energy exploration, telling them their votes are vital to his success. 'The state of Ohio, as it has been so, so long, is going to be a battleground state,' he told a crowd at Xavier University. 'And the person who wins this state on Nov. 4, will probably - if history holds true - will probably be the next president of the United States.'"
The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that "one of the challenges" that McCain "will face in the fall campaign is trying to compete for campaign money with" Obama, and that "is why McCain's trip to Cincinnati was not just about talking with and answering questions from undecided voters it was about money, too. He was to attend a large fundraising event at the Indian Hill home of Carl H. Lindner III...that was expected to attract nearly every Cincinnati area big-money donor and fundraiser who helped fuel George W. Bush's two campaigns for the presidency."
McCain Meets With Social Conservative Leaders The Wall Street Journal reports "conservative leaders" met with Sen. John McCain yesterday in Cincinnati to urge him "to talk more about social issues on the stump in order to get conservatives to the voting booths." The meeting "touched on a number of issues," but "the main message the participants had for the candidate wasn't about policy -- but politics." Citizens for Community Values leader Phil Burress said, "If he doesn't start talking about the social issues, I don't see how he can possibly win Ohio." The Los Angeles Times adds that McCain "told the small assembly that he was open to learning more about their opposition to embryonic stem cell research despite his past disagreements with them on the issue. And, according to participants, he indicated that he would take seriously their requests that he choose an anti-abortion running mate and would talk more openly about his opposition to gay marriage -- a pledge he carried out later in the day by endorsing a ballot measure in California to ban gay marriage."
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A new set of polls from Quinnipiac University shows Sen. Barack Obama leading Sen. John McCain in four swing states Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. In Colorado, Obama leads McCain 49%-44%. In Michigan, Obama tops McCain 48%-42%. In Minnesota, Obama leads McCain 54%-37%. In Wisconsin, Obama is on top 52%-39%. Pollster Peter A. Brown said this morning, "November can't get here soon enough for Sen. Barack Obama. He has a lead everywhere, and if nothing changes between now and November he will make history." However, Brown added Obama "should not be picking out the drapes for the Oval Office just yet. His lead nationally, and double digits in some key states, is not hugely different from where Sen. John Kerry stood four years ago at this point in the campaign." The polls, which were sponsored by the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal, surveyed 1,351 likely Colorado voters, 1,411 likely Michigan voters, 1,572 likely Minnesota voters, and 1,537 likely Wisconsin voters from June 17-24.
Texas Survey Shows McCain Up 5 The Dallas Morning News reports this morning that a poll by the Texas Lyceum, a "nonpartisan leadership group," shows McCain leading Obama 43%-38%. The paper says "Democrats touted the poll as evidence of a partisan realignment that portends well for the party in November. But Republicans dismissed the survey, saying it oversamples Democrats in a state where the GOP has dominated politics for a decade."
Obama Up 16 In New Jersey. A Fairleigh Dickinson University Public Mind poll of 702 registered New Jersey voters shows Obama leading McCain 49%-33% in the Garden State.
The Gallup presidential tracking poll shows that John McCain and Barack Obama are tied for the second day running each pulling 44%. Gallup's Lynn Saad says, "Obama and McCain have been roughly tied in each individual day's results including in today's three-day rolling average, indicating some stability in the race since Monday." The current poll surveyed 2605 registered voters from June 23-25.
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David Letterman: The Supreme Court "ruled individuals have the right to carry guns." But do not "think you can just go into a gun store and buy a gun. There is still a strict 15-minute waiting period."
David Letterman: "When the decision was read, it created pandemonium. Court Justice Scalia had to fire two warning shots to settle people down. And then at the White House, just for fun, Dick Cheney went out and peppered a buddy with some bird shot."
Craig Ferguson: Ralph Nader "is accusing Barack Obama of 'talking white.' ... He then accused John McCain of 'talking young.'"
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