A month ago, gun rights supporters won a huge victory when the US Supreme Court struck down a handgun ban in Washington, D.C.  Now, the same plaintiff has gone back to court over an individual's right to bear arms.

Security guard Richard Heller, who brought the original lawsuit against the District of Columbia now says that DC's revised gun laws also violate the Second Amendment.

He has been joined this time by two others who evidently felt they faced unnecessary obstacles in getting registered to have a gun at home for self-defense.

Washington, D.C. officials said they welcomed this latest legal challenge, which doesn't seem likely to be wrapped up neatly with a bow in the next few weeks.

It only confirms that the next round in the gun rights fight will again be in the legal arena, with the possibility that they could spill into the political arena.

Meanwhile, as Heller opens up a new legal effort on the issue in DC, Republicans - and a handful of Democrats - are trying to get the issue considered by the Congress.

Bills have been filed in both the House and Senate to basically take away the power of the Washington, D.C. City Council to pass laws on gun restrictions.

Remember, the Congress holds the purse strings for the District.  "Home Rule" as it is known around here is a big deal for many, who feel like lawmakers intervene too often in the political considerations of the council.

This District of Columbia Personal Protection Act (HR 1399) would reform the Council's authority to restrict firearms, repeal the ban in DC on semiautomatic weapons, repeal gun registration requirements in the city and more.

This bill has no chance of being brought up on the floor by the Democratic leadership, so Republicans are trying to force a vote on it, by using what's known as a 'discharge petition.'

Basically, if you get 218 people to sign the petition, you force the hand of the leadership and bring the bill to the floor within a specified time frame.

Right now, there are 109 signatures on that, which you can find at http://clerk.house.gov/110/lrc/pd/petitions/Dis14.htm

I'm not ready to say that the 'gun debate' is going to become a big part of this year's Presidential race, or even an overall issue in the battle for control of Congress.

But there will be some races out there where the gun issue will be played up by local candidates.

For the most part, I still think it is advantage Republicans, but not a huge edge.  We'll see in November.