Early in President Bush's first term, the Justice Department adopted the "individual rights" interpretation of the Second Amendment. According to administration attorneys, the weight of historical evidence and academic scholarship supported this view. Now, however, it appears that at least one federal agency (the Federal Aviation Administration) is endorsing the "collective rights" view in a rulemaking concerning whether firearms should be allowed during space travel. Given that proposed rules are supposed to be subject to White House review in the Office of Management and Budget, the question is whether this one just slipped by, whether it represents a sign that the Administration is backing off the "individual rights" interpretation favored by most supporters of gun rights, or whether this is something that only those of us who with scheduled space travel need worry about. (Link via Instapundit)

UPDATE: It is important to note that, according to David Codrea, the FAA maintains that the rule's language was approved by the Executive Office of the President. This would suggest that the White House, perhaps inadvertently, let through a statement that the Second Amemdment only protects a "collective right" to arms. If this represents an official change in policy, it is significant (and far more significant than the FAA's regulation, which could easily have met the more exacting scrutiny required by an "individual rights" interpretation of the Second Amendment).