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Original Source: CNN NEWSROOM
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: A blockbuster ruling on gun control: the Supreme Court shoots down D.C.'s ban on handguns. Now gun groups are taking aim at other laws.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And a major breakthrough for efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear program. North Korea hands over a long-awaited declaration, and President Bush responds.
LEMON: And just one day after he was convicted of murdering his wife and baby daughter, Richard Entwistle is sentenced for his crime.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: Right off the top. This is a major ruling, everyone. For 217 years, Americans have wondered what the right to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution really means. Well, now we have a pretty good idea of it.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court has overturned a near total ban on handgun ownership in Washington, D.C. The ruling holds gun ownership is an individual right, not reserved for state-run militias, but not unlimited either.
It is a huge day in the American legal history. And we've got it covered for you with CNN's Jeanne Meserve. She's at the high court. Our Josh Levs, here at the CNN center watching gun sales over the Internet. That is a very interesting part of this. And Brooke Baldwin at a gun shop in Smyrna, Georgia, that's been embroiled in a lawsuit over gun crimes in New York City. It is an unbelievable story. We're going to tell you about there, and it's still going on.
Now two other cities and two states urged the court to keep the D.C. ban. Siding with would-be gun owners were 31 states, the Bush administration and the National Rifle Association.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE LAPIERRE, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: The Supreme Court today has gone on record saying the Founding Fathers intended this to be an individual right, we acknowledge that. So the Second Amendment as an individual right goes down as a real permanent part of American constitutional law. And that's a monumental victory. PAUL HELMKE, BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: Justice Scalia specifically mentioned limitations on carrying concealed weapons; limits on who was able to acquire a gun, such as felons and the dangerously mentally ill; limits on where guns can be taken, such as schools and government buildings; limits on the conditions of sale; and limits on the types of weapons.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Our Jeanne Meserve was in the gallery when portions of the high court opinion and dissent were read.
Jeanne Meserve, what is the reasoning behind the majority decision? I want to ask you really quickly, if you were in that gallery, what was the reaction like when this was read?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, actually, very little reaction from the audience. It's a very staid environment there.
I can just tell you that Justice John Paul Stevens read a dissent from the bench, something that's not always done. And he was quite pointed and, at times, I think a little bit emotional in laying out his objections to the majority ruling today.
Let me step back for just a minute and talk for a minute about what was debated here. That was the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which reads, "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."
The big debate was does this mean that gun ownership is key to militias? Or does it mean that individuals have a right to bear arms? And what the majority said today is that the individual has rights. It's the first time they've dealt with this issue since 1939.
The law in question in this particular case was an almost total ban on handguns here in the District of Columbia, which says that no resident of the city can lawfully have a handgun, even in their own homes, even for self-defense. That is out the window now.
The mayor of the city reacted quickly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ADRIAN FENTY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: As mayor, although I am disappointed in the court's ruling, and believe, as I said for the past year, that more handguns in the District of Columbia will only lead to more handgun violence, it is important to both respect the court's authority and then to act quickly.
And today, I have already directed the Metropolitan Police Department to implement an orderly process for allowing citizens to register handguns for lawful possession in their homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MESERVE: The old law will remain in effect, but only for the next 21 years -- 21 days, rather.
But the larger implication, of course, is for the nation. I can tell you that the National Rifle Association is seizing on this ruling today and saying that today they are going to court in San Francisco, Chicago, and some other localities to challenge restrictions on guns that they have in place. This is just the opening salvo in the gun control war in the courts.
Back to you.
LEMON: All right, Jeanne. Thank you.
KEILAR: Well, if guns weren't an issue in the presidential race already, they will be now. Here is where the candidates stand.
Barack Obama wants to permanently reinstate a nationwide ban on assault weapons. John McCain opposes restrictions on assault weapons and voted against a ten-year extension of that ban.
Obama voted for a 2005 amendment that would restrict rifle ammunition designed or marketed to be armor piercing, and McCain voted against it. Both men voted for a 2006 amendment banning confiscation of firearms from private citizens, especially in times of crisis or emergency.
Got to tell you, still ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM, we're going to gauge the impact of this high-court ruling at a gun shop here in Georgia. And also our Josh Levs, he is watching gun sales on the Web.
LEMON: And after three years of talking, today action. North Korea makes good on a promise, a new openness, and a major move toward a much better relationship with the United States.
North Korea handed over documents listing details about its mysterious nuclear program. And tomorrow, the plan is to remove, dramatically, a most visible symbol of that program. The cooling tower at a nuclear reactor complex will be blown up.
This is not being done exactly for free; there's a pay-off here. Some U.S. sanctions against North Korea are being lifted, although many remain in place. Plus North Korea's place on America's list of terrorist states could change, as well.
KEILAR: President Bush ordered today some of those U.S. sanctions listed. He called it a symbolic gesture recognizing a first step. The first, he hopes of many.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This can be a moment of opportunity for North Korea. If North Korea continues to make the right choices, it can repair its relationship with the international community, much as Libya has done over the past few years.
If North Korea makes the wrong choices, the United States and our partners in the six-party talks will respond accordingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Now the president's orders take effect in 45 days. And during that time, the White House, Congress, and much of the world will be watching to see how all of the parties involved here, not just North Korea, respond to today's development.
CNN's State Department correspondent...
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