In the wake of the Supreme Court’s first significant ruling upholding the constitutional right to bear arms, gun owners across Madison County are breathing a sigh of relief.

The Supreme Court’s June 26 ruling struck down Washington, D.C.’s ban on handgun possession, and rendered its first-ever decision upholding an individual’s right to own a firearm.

Tom Neal, president of the Alexandria Conservation and Gun Club, said he was “extremely relieved” to learn of the ruling.

“It’s going to give the pro-gun people more leverage,” Neal said, admitting that he feared the Second Amendment was in jeopardy.

Neal favors firearm education over firearm legislation. “I’d like to see firearms classes in school to educate children more on it. It’s all about education. My children have always been around firearms.”

Paul Bunner of Farmland works at the Ludco Gun Shop in Parker City and said the ruling maintains the common sense approach to gun control that he supports. “I’d say, it’s just a reaffirmation that what those people have been saying all along is correct, as far as interpretation of the Second Amendment. The laws that we have on our books today, for the most part, are good common sense.”

Before Bunner sells a firearm to a customer, he must first run the person’s name through the National Instant Background Check system by federal law, he said.

If the check comes back clear, the customer can leave the store without any type of waiting or “cooling off” period.

Waiting periods, Bunner said, can be dangerous in cases of self-defense.

He said he once sold a handgun to a woman who was being beaten by her husband and restraining orders, Bunner said, weren’t keeping the violent spouse away. “Three days may mean the difference between life and death,” Bunner said.

Alexandria resident Mike Idlewine agrees that gun laws must honor residents’ right to protect themselves. “Everybody has got the right to defend their own property. I’m not against shooting a guy who comes into my house, but I am against killing him. Life is precious.”

Neal uses his firearms for hunting and trap shooting and said guns should not be blamed for gun violence. “There’s a lot of things that cause death and it’s usually the operator. Look at all the people killed in automobiles. It’s not the automobile’s fault that the person isn’t paying attention.”

“My guns haven’t got anything to do with crime,” he argued.

Neal and other pro-gun supporters have argued that the government should not make amendments to the right to bear arms. “I don’t like the government watching over everything I do as an individual, but I understand why they do it,” Neal said.

Bob Ehman of Jonesboro said the typical gun owner is not a threat to society. “A lot of people figure everyone who’s got a gun is a criminal.”