My IANAL interpretation:
Tldr; this part speaks to scope and the limiting of the ruling/decision upon the issue at hand. We all know this is a two edged sword. It’s been used to come up with the vampire rules and the like but also leaves room to litigate which is very relevant in my next point.
Create the following inverse statements. Can the following statement be held as true?
“The handgun ban [is not] struck down and respondent [does not] register the, he could obtain a license…”. If false, using the scope as established above, do you have a 2A violation separate from Heller?
“The handgun ban [is not] struck down and respondent [does not] register the, he could [not] obtain a license…” If True, using the scope as established above, do you have a 2A violation separate from Heller?
The specific petitioner may not, sure, but how about other parties not listed?
Reading between the lines and applying my two inverse scenarios, I think this statement has new color. IF either inverse applies, the court has left room here for litigation. In my scenario, the petitioners would not receive a license and relief is not met.
I’m attributing this statement to you, @RustVendor and not the court, so my response is this assumes the inverse doesn’t exist… but it does and it can, should and probably will be litigated with