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In the Supreme Court's decision against D.C.'s handgun ban today, the court also ruled that trigger-lock requirements are unconstitutional.

"The requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional," Justice Antonin Scalia wrote in the opinion of the court.

D.C. law allows citizens to own shotguns and hunting rifles but requires they be kept either disassembled or with a lock attached to the trigger.

Self defense was a cornerstone of the court's decision.

 

The court ruled that owning guns for self-defense "unconnected with service in a militia" is protected by the second amendment. The amendment's prefatory clause states that a "well-regulated militia" is "necessary to the security of a free State"; today the court interpreted that clause as giving a purpose for, but not limiting the scope of, citizens' right to bear arms.

See the court's full opinion here.

Laurinda Calogne (R-La.) decided Thursday against making another run for the House seat now held by Rep. Don Cazayoux (D).

Calongne, founder and CEO of her own healthcare consulting firm, placed behind Cazayoux and Republican Woody Jenkins in a special election in March to fill the seat, vacated by Rep. Richard Baker (R).

Instead of running for office, Calongne said that she will start an advocacy organization called the Conservative Leadership Council.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) called on both presidential candidates Thursday to raise the level of debate and spend the remaining four months of the election preparing to be president.

In an address at the Brookings Institution, Hagel said that both John McCain and Barack Obama have an obligation to clearly present the views and policies that would guide their would-be presidencies.

"We live in complicated times. The issues that will determine our fate demand more than glib, 10-second answers and clever, 30-second television ads. McCain and Obama are both smart, capable and decent men who love their country.," said Hagel, who has yet to endorse either candidate. "Presidential campaigns are tough, and there should be vigorous debate, which produces political tension. But these two candidates must not allow this reality to control the process, thereby obfuscating the serious discussion of serious issues and specific issues so critical to the future of America and the world."

Hagel called on both McCain and Obama to eschew partisanship.

"One of these candidates is going to have to bring this country together, make the Congress a partner, form a broad consensus to govern, and help lead the world," he said. "If they so polarize and divide our country during the campaign they will find it difficult to govern. The complexities of an interconnected world will require leadership and decisions from the new president the day he takes office. These realities won't wait until America might come back together."

Hagel, the most vocal Republican critic in the Senate of the Iraq war, has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Obama. He decided against running in the GOP presidential primaries last year, chose not to run for re-election to the Senate and had been seen as a possible independent vice presidential candidate on a ticket with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I).

At Brookings on Thursday, Hagel spent much of his time focusing on foreign policy.

"The most dangerous area of the world representing the most significant U.S. national security threat is not Iraq, but the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan," he said.

Hagel added that international challenges will require consensus, and that unilateral action "undermines our influence and further isolates us in an interconnected world."

Though Hagel didn't directly criticize Obama or McCain, he had words that seem to warn the Democrat to avoid a turn toward protectionist trade policies and praise him for his call for more dialogue with rogue nations.

"Trade is a driving force for sustained economic prosperity and job creation, both in the United States and throughout the world," Hagel said. "Trade, however, is not a guarantee. The ongoing credit crisis and skyrocketing world food and energy prices are among the recent temptations for countries to restrict markets and veer toward protectionism that leads to dangerous insular thinking."

Hagel encouraged engagement with countries in the Middle East that have traditionally antagonized the United States.

"We should take the initiative to reengage Syria by returning the U.S. ambassador to Damascus," he said. "The United States should open a new strategic direction in U.S.-Iran relations by seeking direct, comprehensive and unconditional talks with the government of Iran, including opening a U.S. interest section in Tehran."

Hagel continued: "We must avoid backing ourselves into a military conflict with Iran. That need not happen, but it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. We are currently in a strategic cul-de-sac in the Middle East. We need to find our way out with new policies."

Obama's Republican critics had suggested that the Democrat's call for direct negotiations with Iranian leaders would amount to appeasement. But Hagel dismissed those claims.

"Engagement is not appeasement," he said. "Diplomacy is not appeasement. Great nations engage. Powerful nations must be the adults in world affairs. Anything less will result in disastrous, useless, preventable global conflict."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) says that despite the Supreme Court decision to strike down its gun ban, the District of Columbia will still be able to regulate firearms.

"I think it still allows the District of Columbia to come forward with a law that

Barack Obama had a rare agreement with President Bush on Thursday, applauding a decision to lift trade sanctions against North Korea.

Obama called the decision "a step forward" but cautioned that there are "more steps to take," hitting Bush for the administration's previous diplomatic approach to the country.

"We should continue to pursue the kind of direct and aggressive diplomacy with North Korea that can yield results. The objective must be clear: the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, which only expanded while we refused to talk," Obama said.

John McCain blasted Barack Obama today for not calling for the Supreme Court's ruling against the D.C. handgun ban ahead of time.

"Unlike Senator Obama, who refused to join me in signing a bipartisan amicus brief, I was pleased to express my support and call for the ruling issued today," McCain said in a statement released by the campaign. "Today's ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller makes clear that other municipalities like Chicago that have banned handguns have infringed on the constitutional rights of Americans. Unlike the elitist view that believes Americans cling to guns out of bitterness, today's ruling recognizes that gun ownership is a fundamental right -- sacred, just as the right to free speech and assembly."

McCain signed an amicus brief calling for the court to strike down the ban. Obama did not, saying he wanted to wait for the court's decision before speaking publicly about it.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) also pounced on Obama, circulating a video of the Illinois Democrat expressing support for gun-control measures.

Barack Obama holds a four percentage point lead over John McCain among Catholics, according to a new poll by Gallup.

Gallup found that 47 percent of Catholics support Obama, while 43 percent support McCain. See the full results here. Gallup polled 14,000 Catholics from the survey June 2-23, all after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) ended her presidential run.

Clinton garnered more support from Catholics than Obama during the Democratic primary, outperforming him 56 percent to 37 percent in a March Gallup survey.

Barack Obama holds leads over John McCain in three Midwestern states and in Colorado.

In Michigan, Obama leads McCain, 48 percent to 42 percent. In Minnesota, he leads 54 percent to 37 percent. In Wisconsin, Obama is up 52 percent to 39 percent.

And in Colorado, Obama gets 49 percent to 44 percent.

"But Sen. Obama should not be picking out the drapes for the Oval Office just yet," said Quinnipiac's Peter Brown in a release. "His lead nationally, and double digits in some key states, is not hugely different from where Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) stood four years ago at this point in the campaign."

Interestingly, while most Democrats in these four states would like to see Obama choose Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his running mate, most independents would not. Obama holds leads among independents of at least eight percentage points in all four of the swing states polled.

Read more about the poll here.

Former Rep. Tom Lantos's (D-Calif.) papers will be housed at the University of California, Berkeley's Bancroft Library, reports KPIX in San Francisco.

Lantos, who passed away earlier this year, was Congress's only Holocaust survivor. He was also chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus. President Bush posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom last week.

The Supreme Court has ruled against Washington, D.C.'s ban on handguns and that Americans have right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the Associated Press reports.

TheHill.com will have full story soon.