The Obama and McCain campaigns are battling it out today over the Supreme Court decision striking down the D.C. handgun ban, and McCain's team moved aggressively to put Obama on defense over an issue that has long bedeviled Dems in Presidential campaigns.

In a statement just out from his campaign -- which is after the jump -- Obama supported today's decision. Obama said that despite striking down the ban it had "endorsed" the view that "crime-ravaged communities" can act to protect themselves through gun control measures.

Last year an Obama aide indicated that Obama thought the ban was Constitutional. And so the Obama campaign moved to preempt any criticism of him for flip-flopping by saying this morning that that language was an "inartful" description of his position, adding that in fact Obama hasn't taken a position on whether the D.C. gun law was at odds with the Second Amendment.

Needless to say, the GOP didn't really accept this explanation. The McCain camp quickly threw together a conference call to blast Obama for changing his position. "This is either an incredible flip flop or incredible inexperience on this issue," Senator Sam Brownback, a McCain supporter, charged on the call.

One interesting tidbit that foreshadows what's ahead: As Jonathan Martin notes, McCain's statement on the Supreme Court decision went out of its way to highlight Obama's infamous "bitter" remarks, saying:

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.

Full statements from Obama and McCain after the jump.

Obama's statement:

"I have always believed that the Second Amendment protects the right of individuals to bear arms, but I also identify with the need for crime-ravaged communities to save their children from the violence that plagues our streets through common-sense, effective safety measures. The Supreme Court has now endorsed that view, and while it ruled that the D.C. gun ban went too far, Justice Scalia himself acknowledged that this right is not absolute and subject to reasonable regulations enacted by local communities to keep their streets safe. Today's ruling, the first clear statement on this issue in 127 years, will provide much-needed guidance to local jurisdictions across the country.

"As President, I will uphold the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun-owners, hunters, and sportsmen. I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals. Today's decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe.

McCain's:

Today's decision is a landmark victory for Second Amendment freedom in the United States. For this first time in the history of our Republic, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms was and is an individual right as intended by our Founding Fathers. I applaud this decision as well as the overturning of the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and limitations on the ability to use firearms for self-defense.

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. 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.

This ruling does not mark the end of our struggle against those who seek to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens. We must always remain vigilant in defense of our freedoms. But today, the Supreme Court ended forever the specious argument that the Second Amendment did not confer an individual right to keep and bear arms.