US:THE US capital's strict gun control law faced a barrage of sceptical questions yesterday from the US supreme court's conservatives.
A majority of the nine-member high court seemed to support the view that the second amendment of the us constitution protected an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia.
The individual right position was advocated by opponents of the Washington DC law, one of the strictest in the nation. The arguments marked the first time the court has tackled the second amendment in nearly 70 years.
The court's ruling, expected by the end of June, could have a far-reaching impact on gun control laws in the US, which is estimated to have the world's highest civilian gun ownership rate, and could become an issue in the November presidential election.
"What is reasonable about a total ban on possession?" the chief justice, John Roberts, asked the city's lawyer, Walter Dellinger, referring to a provision barring private possession of handguns. Mr Dellinger said the ban was only on the weapons that have been considered especially dangerous.
Justice Samuel Alito, who like Justice Roberts was appointed by President George Bush, cited another provision requiring rifles or shotguns be kept unloaded and dissembled or bound by a trigger lock, and said it did not seem as if they could be used as such for the self defence of one's home.
The court's four liberals seemed most sympathetic to the law. "Is it unreasonable for a city with that high crime rate to say no handguns here?" Justice Stephen Breyer asked.
Justice Breyer cited statistics claiming 80,000-100,000 people in the US every year are killed or wounded in gun-related homicides or crimes, accidents or suicides.