(Washington, D.C. - Right Commentary.com) The United States Supreme Court concluded arguments this week in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller — a case to determine once and for all whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides an individual right to keep and bear arms.

For those who don’t know - the District of Columbia is essentially a gun-free zone for legal, law abiding, persons to keep and bear arms. Criminals, cops, federal agents, just about everyone else - is strapped to the hilt. Every day on the news - at least one story about someone getting shot in SW D.C. is on the news. The only people who aren’t carrying weapons are the law-abiding people.

From what I heard - at least that argument seems to be favoring gun owners. I would be quite surprised if the Court ruled that their was not an individual right to keep and bear arms. But the issues in this case are a bit more clouded than just the simple right to keep and bear arms.

Also discussed was the question if D.C.’s ban on handguns and it’s requirement that all shotguns and rifles be locked and rendered non-functional amounts to a ban on self-defense. I think D.C.’s high violent crime rate is a testament to that fact. The purpose of the Second Amendment is to - in part - provide for a common defense. If the weapons are rendered useless, how is that goal served?

The argument that the Second Amendment only applies to the armed forces as a collective unit has been used by gun control advocates to try and enact laws that deny Americans their Constitutional right to own firearms for protection, shooting sports, hunting and other lawful purposes. Unfortunately for such advocates, that’s not what the Constitution states.

The Second Amendment reads that “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.” Advocates of gun control argue that this limits the possession of weapons to the military. However, that is inconsistent with the founding father’s own experiences with weapons in 1789 - all of whom I imagine hunted and had firearms in their homes. And in the case of many who participated at the Constitutional Convention - knew their own firearms were used in defense of the Nation against the British Army.

The Bill of Rights was not written to grant rights to military forces. It was written to preserve rights and liberties of the American civilian/citizen. Back in the day, if you owned a firearm to protect your home and family against unfriendly attacks from man or beast or to procure meat for the table, you were considered a member of the militia. You were a “minuteman” who could be called upon in a minute to use your firearm to defend your country. In the Revolutionary War - citizen soldiers comprised the armies that fought the British. There is an inherent assumption in the Second Amendment that guns will be widely dispersed and owned in the homes of our citizenry.

The anti-gun crowd also argues that gun-owners aren’t “well-regulated” but I disagree. Gun owners must abide by volumes of regulations, thus they are regulated. There are few legal products have as much regulation as weapons. Some states require gun owners to attend safety courses in the responsible and proficient use of firearms, in addition to passing the federal firearms requirements. In almost all states, failure to keep your weapon secured often results in you being held liable for whatever actions are taken with your firearm (such as a child having access to it, or weapons being left out and subsequently stolen).

The Second Amendment was carefully put in place to guard against tyranny. We are a nation of laws - and a nation of guns. Our forefathers fought against a tyrannical government to win their independence — and won. Without guns, they’d have lost. The armed citizen is the greatest defense against governments that attempt to strip their citizens’ rights away. Like it or not -guns are an integral part of our history and our culture - and our laws.

A decision is expected to be issued by late June.