Another court victory in California, of all places, follows on the heels of last summer’s landmark District of Columbia v. Heller case. Those who believe individuals have the right to arm themselves should rejoice at the ruling handed down by the notoriously liberal (man, I hate referring to those who don’t believe in liberty as “liberals”) U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Heller case affirmed that the Second Amendment is an individual right rather than pertaining only to state-regulated militias. Monday’s ruling, though imperfect, affirms that the Second Amendment applies not only to the federal government, but also to local and state government.

Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain, wrote some very promising verbiage into the opinion…

“The right to bear arms is a bulwark against external invasion. We should not be overconfident that oceans on our east and west coasts alone can preserve security. We recently saw in the case of the terrorist attack on Mumbai that terrorists may enter a country covertly by ocean routes, landing in small craft and then assembling to wreak havoc. That we have a lawfully armed populace adds a measure of security for all of us and makes it less likely that a band of terrorists could make headway in an attack on any community before more professional forces arrived.”

So the Second Amendment was not about duck hunting, after all. Even more refreshing is this Judge’s recognition that the real reason the Founding Fathers wanted an armed populace was so that it could fight off their own leaders when appropriate.

Consider this snippet, also from Judge O’Scannlain’s Opinion.

“Second, the right to bear arms is a protection against the possibility that even our own government could degenerate into tyranny, and though this may seem unlikely, this possibility should be guarded against with individual diligence.”

These words are courageous words and proof that we are not alone.

To discuss this issue further head over to the Gun Owners for Freedom Group on Bureaucrash Social, start a blog or comment on the discussions and blog posts dealing with the right to keep and bear arms and fighting back against the tide the those who would usurp our rights. For more information on how you can swing the pendulum back towards liberty be sure to read the Homeland Tyranny and Freedom: My Anti-Gov Intel overviews.