Gun ban shot down

Danelle Narducci of Loma Rica got out of an abusive marriage and bought a handgun in December to protect her three sons and herself.

She legally carries a concealed weapon in her purse. Now Narducci feels safe, she said.

"It took me two weeks to decide if I could pull the trigger. I could do it," she said Thursday standing in Shooter's Paradise in Yuba City where she purchased her gun.

Narducci supports the United States Supreme Court decision made Thursday ruling that Americans have the right to own guns under the Constitution. Felons, violent criminals and mentally ill people will still be prohibited from obtaining firearms. The court hadn't interpreted the language of the Second Amendment since it was ratified in 1791 before Thursday and citizens have been debating it since.

The 5-4 ruling also struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns.

Chief Richard Doscher of the Yuba City Police Department said this is a landmark decision for the U.S., however it doesn't change much in the Mid-Valley.

"It just reinforces the provision finally at the federal level," he said. "Unless you are a member of prohibited class, you have the absolute right to possess firearms in your home."

Sandy Fonley has been working with crime victims with the Victim Witness Program for 22 years in Yuba County and doesn't support the court's decision. She said she wishes there was a better way to regulate who can obtain firearms - so that "smart" individuals could keep weapons safely in their homes.

"I just think there's no reason to have a hand gun because of the grief and violence I see on a daily basis caused by handguns," Fonley said.

Zak Love, owner of Shooter's Paradise, thinks guns in the hands of law abiding citizens keep the country safe from attacks, but he supports restrictions for criminals.

Love of Browns Valley said he was expecting the ruling.

"I know gun laws are gonna get better and better for people who believe in the Second Amendment," he said.

Love owns several rifles, hand guns and shotguns and has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. He thinks many people, especially farmers in the area own guns and use them to protect their crops and homes, Love said.

Senator Sam Aanestad R-Grass Valley, Assemblyman Rick Keene R-Chico and Congressman Wally Herger all said in published statements they supported the court's decision and interpretation of the Second Amendment. Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa R-Richvale also applauded the ruling.

"As a gun owner, I am extremely pleased that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld our well-established right to keep and bear arms," La Malfa said in a published statement.

Barbara Gaudreau, chair of the Democratic Central Committee in Sutter County, said she's alarmed by the decision.

"I'm a Democrat. But mostly I'm an American," she said. "Changes to the Constitution need to go through the state."

Chief Wallace Fullerton of the Marysville Police Department said he doesn't think the ruling will affect local prosecution of firearm violations.

The court's decision may chip away at tight gun restrictions in California, said Love while standing in his store with hundreds of rifles, hand guns and shot guns.

"If there's nothing to stop a criminal from robbing your house, then they'll just rob your house," Love said. "For some reason criminals don't like the idea of being shot."

What does this ruling mean?

The Supreme Court's landmark decision Thursday striking down the District of Columbia's gun ban will have wide-ranging legal, political and public safety consequences.

Most immediately, the court's 5-4 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller poses myriad questions for which answers are still a work in progress. Here are some of them.

Q. Does this eliminate all gun restrictions?

A. No. Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for the court's majority, stressed that the Second Amendment doesn't guarantee an "unlimited" right to bear arms. Scalia cited as legitimate long-standing prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, as well as bans on carrying firearms into schools and government buildings.

Laws imposing "conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms" are also probably safe, Scalia wrote, adding that his list of Second Amendment-friendly gun restrictions "does not purport to be exhaustive."

Q. But the ruling will extend beyond Washington, D.C.'s, gun ban?

A. Yes, although not right away.

The latest federal compilation of state and local firearm laws is some 458 pages long, and it was published in 2005, so it's not up to date. Boston, Chicago and Denver, for instance, ban the possession and sale of assault weapons. Los Angeles and San Francisco ban the sale of .50-caliber handguns. Oakland, Calif., bans the sale of ultra-compact handguns.

Q. How about federal gun laws? Will they be affected?

A. Potentially yes, although most firearm regulations are at the state or local level.

-McClatchy Tribune news services

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Katy Sweeny at 749-4708 or ksweeny@appealdemo crat.com. The Associated Press reports contributed to this article.