The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled this morning to uphold an appellate ruling that says the District of Columbia’s 32-year-old handgun ban is unconstitutional.

The decision in District of Columbia v. Heller was written by Justice Antonin Scalia. Justice Breyer dissented, joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg. The ruling clarifies the court’s position that the Second Amendment gives individuals the right to own firearms, instead of only protecting a collective right for states to form armed militias.

SCOTUSBlog is liveblogging all the Supreme Court decisions this morning. We’ll have more soon…

UPDATE 10:24 a.m. You can download a PDF of the Heller decision here, courtesy SCOTUSBlog.

From the Syllabus of the decision:

The handgun ban and the trigger-lock requirement (as applied to self-defense) violate the Second Amendment. The District’s total ban on handgun possession in the home amounts to a prohibition on an entire class of “arms” that Americans overwhelmingly choose for the lawful purpose of self-defense. Under any of the standards of scrutiny the Court has applied to enumerated constitutional rights, this prohibition—in the place where the importance of the lawful defense of self, family, and property is most acute—would fail constitutional muster. Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional.

The decision does not address gun licensing requirements.

Two separate dissenting opinions were issued, one written by Justice Stevens, and the other by Justice Breyer. But the Scalia decision is in fact a majority opinion, and not a plurality opinion as court watchers had predicted, since it was signed by four other justices – Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy.

UPDATE 10:47 a.m.: D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson is the first out the gate with a response to the court’s decision.

“I look forward to working with the Executive and my colleagues on the Council. While I am disappointed in the Supreme Court’s decision on the Heller case, our response will be swift and comprehensive. We will have time to revise our registration law, while simultaneously ensure that the safety and well-being of those who live, work, and play in the District will be protected.”

Mendelson has scheduled a public hearing on the decision for Wednesday, July 2, at noon at the Wilson Building. Still waiting for a reaction from Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen