Appeals Court Overturns D.C. Gun Ban
 

By BRETT ZONGKER Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court overturned the District of Columbia's long- standing handgun ban Friday, rejecting the city's argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to militias.
In a 2-1 decision, the judges held that the activities protected by the Second Amendment "are not limited to militia service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent" on enrollment in a militia.

The ban on owning handguns went into effect in 1976.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also threw out the district's requirement that registered firearms be kept unloaded, disassembled and under trigger lock.

In 2004, a lower-court judge told six city residents that they did not have a constitutional right to own handguns. The plaintiffs include residents of high-crime neighborhoods who wanted the guns for protection.

"The district's definition of the militia is just too narrow," Judge Laurence Silberman wrote for the majority Friday. "There are too many instances of 'bear arms' indicating private use to conclude that the drafters intended only a military sense."

Judge Karen Henderson dissented, writing that the Second Amendment does not apply to the District of Columbia because it is not a state.

The Bush administration has endorsed individual gun-ownership rights, but the Supreme Court has never settled the issue.

"I think this is well positioned for review of the Supreme Court," said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law professor at George Washington University. He said the D.C. circuit is historically influential with the Supreme Court because it often deals with constitutional questions.

"You also have a very well-reasoned opinion, both in the majority and the dissent," Turley said.

If the dispute makes it to the high court, it would be the first case in nearly 70 years to address the Second Amendment's scope.

Silberman wrote that the Second Amendment is still "subject to the same sort of reasonable restrictions that have been recognized as limiting, for instance, the First Amendment."

Such restrictions might include gun registration, firearms testing to promote public safety or restrictions on gun ownership for criminals or those deemed mentally ill.

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, said the decision gives the district "a crack in the door to join the rest of the country in full constitutional freedom."

A spokeswoman for the district attorney general's office declined to comment on the ruling.

Could statehood be next? :rolleyes:

I don't know about statehood but they sure need to give them a voting voice in Congress. There is a butt load of people who live there that are not represented, and last I checked they are still paying taxes. Taxation without representation?

That's what my license plates say.

Well I guess HM and I will find out which one of us was/is right about the relationship between gun ownership rights and gun crime.

I wonder if New York is next.

In light of the recent court decision perhaps DC can consider changing the plate slogan to: Now enjoying 85% of the Constitutional Rights enjoyed by the other 50 states. But cross out the 85 and handwrite in 100.

Well, the biggest segment of "gun crime" will go way down- "possession".No, there'll still be taxation without representation.

Yup, I think there are a quite a few otherwise law-abiding citizens in DC who already own guns, so maybe it won't make a difference. But the other thing to consider is that DC has a disproportionate number of stressed-out assholes, who may not yet own guns. This could be exciting.

So was having the right of gun ownership withheld one of the problems of taxation without representation or one of the benefits?

(aliens are taxed but not allowed to vote)

I have no problem with that. They should double tax them.

Oh please enlighten me. I am a gun owner and have a CCW permit for my state.

Enlighten you with respect to what?

Sure. They will need the dough to pay you to do...something, Monsieur Mercenary. :lol:

Neither. Unrelated issues.

Last I heard, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah was the guy pushing for this...I doubt he could give a crap about the taxation without representation.

I'm glad that the ban was overturned, and hopefully the Supreme Court will uphold the ruling or not hear it. I don't think handgun bans work anyway, seeing as criminals are who they are because they don't follow laws.

Having said that, I don't think handgun bans or CCW laws are truly effective in the grand scheme of things. Criminals seem to be more brazen than ever. They don't care if they get filmed...why would they worry about being shot?

It is not that they don't care, it is that those who get filmed are idiots.
Watch cop shows, they act surprised.
"you were filmed"
*shocked expression... slowly followed by resigned sadness* morons are petty criminals, that is all. Real criminals don't get filmed.

Some of them get surprised, sure. But there seems to be an increasingly air of invicibility in people in general...and it has transferred over to the criminal side as well.

:corn:

Still not as brazen as the 1970s. But then when political leaders are liars, then crime increases substantially in later years. That was Nixon's legacy. That will also be George Jr's.

If the District issues non-resident CCWs I'll be more likely to go visit again. Nice.

Half the places you'd visit have metal detectors, though, and wouldn't allow weapons anyway.

I know about the Federal Property exclusion. Pain in the Ass. But I hear the bars in Georgetown are a lot of fun.

Georgetown is west of 16th street. There's no crime to speak of west of 16th street. You should see a scatter diagram of the homicides in DC. Looking at the map without knowing the geography would lead one to conclude that there is a 200 foot high wall lining the eastern side of 16th street. That's the line separating northeast and northwest DC.

So as long as you stay in northwest, you won't need it. And, if you are anything like me, you take your weapon of choice to the airport before a flight (forgetting to leave it at home) so I have to scout around the planters in the parking deck to stash it without the security cameras picking it up.

Its always there when I come back. Just have to brush the dirt off of it.

True dat. The majority of the murders are pretty damm close to the Hill area. South part of the city.

sigh.

No, most of the murders happen in NE, and further SE across the Anacostia River. Not close to Capitol Hill. Although the Hill does have problems with muggings and break-ins.

When we lived there in the 80's (82-85) I always remember that about 4 or 5 blocks south of the capitol it was a total slum. One of the Government personnel buildings was right smack dab in the middle of it. Come to think of it the area just north of the White House was pretty bad too.

This guy stretches points unconscionably to find any excuse to beat on Republicans, particularly Presidents of that persuasion. Rewrite history to suit your own tastes much, chum? How much lying was Bill Clinton doing, again?

I think lying about having sex is on a slightly different scale to lying in order to take a country to war.