The Second Amendment to the Constitution reads: "A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked for the first time since 1939 to apply those words to a law passed by the District of Columbia banning the possession of a handgun by anyone other than a trained law enforcement officer.

Before examining with you what the Court decided, allow me to share a few additional words. They were spoken through tears over the telephone some 16 years ago: "Doug," said my wife Carol, "someone has shot our brother Michael."

The words pierced the moment with a hurt that is still palpable as I write today. The call came as I was traveling with my daughter Kloe in Naples Florida. I had been invited by the Notre Dame Club of Naples to address the topic of the right to life. Kloe was scarcely four years old, but it was her turn to travel with dad on one of many trips for the university. Minutes before the phone rang; we were swimming and splashing in the hotel pool, reflecting on our special time together.

And then the darkness of that unwanted call, which even now fills the mind with dread. It was only minutes before the scheduled dinner and my lecture, but we were on our knees: "Please God find a way to save dear Michael." The oldest sibling of an Irish-American family of nine, Michael's 6'5" stature was perfectly sized for his kind heart. Years earlier, Mike had taken pity on this overly academic skinny kid who presumed to date (and then marry) his stunningly beautiful sister. The hazing of brothers Pat, Joe, Dan and Chris were simply no match, and we grew close.

The television had been on in the room. We were native Chicagoans; it was WGN. Suddenly on screen were those all too familiar yellow "do not cross" police tapes --- the ones that coarsely and unwillingly rope together the more than 30 shootings and six deaths on a typical Chicago weekend --- only this time, they were nailed to the pain lingering in our hearts. The voice of the news anchor recited the tragically redundant facts: Chicago police report that a handgun was found discarded at the scene where Michael, 47, had been discovered fatally wounded in the back of the head; his body found next to the opened, and emptied, safe of Michael's bookstore. The previous day's receipts: about $2000.

I am a lawyer --- a constitutional lawyer --- and the words "a well regulated militia, etc." have an obvious meaning. The history reveals an individual right to possess a gun for the purpose of joining with the other members of one's state in a militia to protect against external threat and the internal risk of tyranny from one's own government.

Justice Antonin Scalia is an intelligent and good man --- himself, the justly proud father of a large and thriving family. A Catholic jurist who has made a career of reminding his fellow judges how important it is not to read their own personal experiences or desires into the law. Honoring the law as written honors the democratic process, he would teach time and again. It is indeed the right approach, when it is honored.

Yet, when Justice Scalia and four other members of the Court decided D.C. v. Heller, they nullified D.C.'s gun law and cast doubt upon the laws of every state. From their high bench on that morning, it would not be the democratic choice that mattered, but theirs. Constitutional text, history, and precedent all set aside.

The long-winded rationalization given supplies no persuasive reason for misconstruing the Second Amendment to support access to handguns well beyond any militia service or purpose. As Justice Stevens wrote in dissent: "The court's announcement of a new constitutional right to own and use firearms for private purposes upsets the settled understanding." It also disregards the long-standing teaching of the American Catholic bishops that "handguns be effectively controlled and eventually eliminated from our society."

No, neither law nor moral instruction justifies a newly-minted and expanded gun right that inevitably will contribute to other families losing their "Michaels."

Douglas W. Kmiec is chair and professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University, Malibu, and the former Dean and St. Thomas More professor of law, The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.