Brown backs Supreme Court ruling on guns

Congressional seat seeker Charlie Brown has come out in favor of last week's Supreme Court decision over the 2nd Amendment, saying responsible gun ownership lies with the individual.

"I have always believed that the (2nd) Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, and applaud the Supreme Court's decision to recognize and uphold this important constitutional freedom," Brown wrote in a press release.

Brown, a Democrat from Roseville, is battling California State Senator Tom McClintock, a Republican moving to the 4th Congressional District from Southern California, to replace U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville).

The northeastern California district is tilted sizably in favor of Republican registration, and gun control is a sensitive issue in the district's conservative rural and suburban regions.

The press release notes that Brown, a teacher, veteran and former registered Republican, has been a gun owner since he was 12 years old.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last week that Washington D.C.'s long-standing ban on handguns in the home violated the U.S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment.

Experts believe the court's ruling could lead to other court challenges to gun control measures, including some in California.