Gun control always under fire

When the Supreme Court ruled there is a constitutional right to possess firearms, it disarmed the scare tactic that the government is out to take away your guns. So it seemed that landmark 2008 decision might make it easier to maintain reasonable gun restrictions. Three years later there's reason to believe it has.

In 2009 the U.S. Senate rejected a measure to allow anyone with a concealed-carry permit from one state to legally carry a concealed weapon in every state.

Then Monday the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge of a Maryland law that made it illegal to carry a handgun outside the home without a permit. By passing on that case, the court declined an opportunity to consider whether the right to own guns should be extended to include a right to carry them on the streets.

But gun-control victories can be fragile. Supporters of irresponsible legislation to allow someone with a concealed-weapons permit from any other state to carry a gun here in New York are trying again. Congress should again reject this one-size-fits-all proposal. If it became law, it would mean lax requirements in some states -- for instance issuing permits without gun training or to people with violent misdemeanor convictions -- could become the de facto national standard.

The court might take up the concealed-carry issue in some future case and the majority view in Congress could change. But for now Washington is charting a fairly reasonable course on guns.