The truth is that the ultimate policy objective of the gun lobby is to completely de-regulate the ownership and use of guns. The NRA can mouth all the pious platitudes in the world about how only 'law-abiding' citizens should own guns, but in the name of Constitutional freedom they have attempted to stymie even the most minimal government efforts to keep guns out of the 'wrong hands.' If there even is a gun problem, the response of the gun lobby is to 'fix' the mental-health system, a non-sequitur if I ever heard one, or increase penalties for gun crimes, despite the fact that every, single gun used illegally or inappropriately first entered the market through a legal sale. What's the NRA's plan for preventing the massive and continuous flow of guns from the good guys to the bad guys? Let every good guy walk around with a gun.

From a pro-gun perspective, the Heller III decision voided some of the DC registration rules which, as far as I'm concerned, weren't of great value at all. This included dropping the 'one gun a month' rule, the re-registration of guns and a requirement that every gun owner pass a test on current DC gun laws. Most importantly, what the decision upheld was the constitutionality of gun registration per se, and perhaps even more important the use of 'intermediate scrutiny' for deciding the constitutionality of gun-control laws. Had the Court agreed with the NRA's argument that the government's attempt to regulate gun ownership could only be decided on the basis of 'strict scrutiny,' i.e., a law is only valid if it fits the exact issue for which it has been designed, you could basically throw out every gun-control statute that has ever been passed.

The Court also upheld the requirement that D.C. gun owners must take an online course in gun safety which I took while I ate breakfast, paid some bills and watched Morning Joe. If the gun-control community thinks they won a partial victory because the Court upheld this part of the D.C. law they should think again. Affirming the government's right to control firearms is one thing; affirming a silly and useless gun regulation is something else.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-weisser/heller-v-dc-gun-control_b_8170192.html