NIT – Conservatives are hailing a ruling handed down this weekend that declares a ban on carrying guns in public in the District of Columbia as unconstitutional.
The District of Columbia was sued by The Second Amendment Association and a citizen for laws requiring a permit to carry a handgun in public, yet refusing to issue such permits and refusing to allow the possession of any handgun that would be carried in public and in doing so, maintained a complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public by almost all individuals.
According to court documents, an man applied for a permit to carry a handgun in public for self-defense but refrains from doing so because he fears arrest, prosecution, fine, and imprisonment as he does not possess a license to carry a handgun. The man sought to register a handgun in the District of Columbia so that he might carry it for self-defense. On or about May 12, 2009, the District of Columbia denied his application to register a handgun for the following reason:
“The intended use of the firearm as stated on your firearms registration application, ‘I intend to carry this firearm, loaded, in public, for self-defense, when not kept in my home” is unacceptable per the “Firearms Registration Emergency Amendment Act of 2008,’ which states that pistols may only be registered by D.C. residents for protection within the home.”
On July 26th, a Federal Judge Frederick Scullin Jr. ruled that the District of Columbia’s laws were unconstitutional and that the right to bear arms extends beyond the home, to residents and non-residents of D.C. He ordered the District of Columbia to immediately allow all “law-abiding citizens” to apply for and receive permits to carry handguns in public.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas called the ruling a “huge victory for the Second Amendment! If you’re in DC, you can now legally defend yourself inside AND outside the home!”
Shawn Dietz, a former mayor of Hampton who is running for the Iowa statehouse as a Republican, called the decision a “terrific ruling”.
Immediately after the ruling, the Washington Post reported that D.C. police “were told Sunday not to arrest people for carrying handguns on the street” if the weapon is registered. According to the Post, the D.C. attorney general’s office, which defended the handgun ban in court, said it will be seeking a stay of Scullin’s order.
The Washington Times reported in 2012 a “sharp spike” in crimes committed at gun point in the District of Columbia and violent crime was “rising at an alarming pace”.
Proponents of ending the gun-carrying ban say that crime will be diminished because criminals will fear that citizens may be armed and able to defend themselves.
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