The United States Supreme Court’s landmark ruling on the Second Amendment last week did more than clarify an important Constitutional principle—it also improved public perceptions of the Court itself.

Following the decision which uphold the right of citizens to bear arms, 34% of voters say the Supreme Court is doing a good or an excellent job. That’s an eight-point improvement in just a few days.

Before the Justices overturned a Washington, DC law banning handguns in the city, just 26% said the Court was doing a good or an excellent job. Two weeks ago, 31% gave the Justices such positive reviews. A month ago, that figure was 41%.

Republicans and unaffiliated voters have improved their opinion of the Supreme Court over the past few days while the views of Democrats are little changed.

The last major Court ruling on this Second Amendment was issued nearly 70 years ago when justices upheld a federal ban on sawed-off shotguns. News of the newest Supreme Court action didn’t take long to reach voters. On the night the ruling was issued, 64% knew what the Court had decided. Among those who knew how the Court ruled, 63% agreed with the decision and 25% disagreed. Those results are consistent with polling conducted before the Court ruled. Beyond the specific issue of a city banning handguns, that earlier polling also found that voters are evenly divided on the need for stricter gun control laws.

Voters believe that John McCain agrees with the Court ruling and upholds the right of individuals to bear arms. They are evenly divided as to whether Barack Obama shares that view. The National Rifle Association (NRA) intends to keep the gun control issue alive and has filed lawsuits against five other cities to overturn handgun bans. One of the cities is Chicago, Illinois, home to the Democratic Presidential nominee. Obama, as a former constitutional law professor, will certainly be asked to comment on the Chicago case. The NRA has also filed a lawsuit to overturn a ban in San Francisco.

The Second Amendment was ratified in 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights, a collection of vital Amendments added shortly after the Constitution went into effect. The Amendment 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." Some people had argued that this provides a right to bear arms only in the context of a well-regulated militia. The Court rejected that notion and said it’s an individual right. Prior to last week’s decision in the Washington, DC case, the Supreme Court had never ruled definitively on that question.

Sixty-one percent (61%) of voters now say that potential Supreme Court appointments are a Very Important voting issue this year. That’s up from 53% earlier in the week.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs are available for Premium Members only.