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State Attorney General says gun ownership is an individual's right

Should Americans be allowed to have guns? Virginia's Attorney General says they should.

Bob McDonnell is supporting a federal court decision that banning guns is unconstitutional. The case originated in Washington, DC where handguns have been banned for decades.

Now it is up to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide. The court's ruling will have national implications.

McDonnel says if justices base their ruling on the intentions of the authors of the Constitution, they'll conclude that owning a gun is an individual right.

McDonnell says "Because at the time of its writing everybody was a member of a militia and today everybody potentially could be called up in some capacity to help defend their property, their person or their nation."

Virginia is the third state to sign on to the friend-of-the-court brief.

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in March and should make a decision by June. The case marks the first time the court has reviewed the original intent of the Second Amendment in 70 years.