Washington, D.C., Handgun Carry Ban Is Ruled Unconstitutional
I agree. Bans are not an option. Jurisdictions like DC will just have to deal with the fact that regulation is the path. Bans don’t work. Bans are illegal and unwise. It’s simple. we as a society have chosen to have an effective means of self defense available to the at risk.
A federal judge has found a Washington, D.C., ban on carrying handguns unconstitutional, according to court filings made public Saturday.
In a 19-page order, Judge Frederick Scullin ruled in favor of four plaintiffs and the Second Amendment Foundation, a gun-rights advocacy group, which had sued the District of Columbia and Police Chief Cathy Lanier. The plaintiffs claimed the city’s refusal to issue carry permits restricted their right to self-defense.
“There is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia’s total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny,” Scullin wrote.
The plaintiffs, three of whom are D.C. residents, filed suit after the police department deemed self-defense an “unacceptable” reason for requesting a permit to carry a firearm in public. A fourth plaintiff had been arrested in D.C. and sentenced to probation on a weapons charge for carrying his firearm, which was licensed in several other states.
More: Washington, D.C., Handgun Ban Is Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Rules - LA Times