April 9, 2007
Fenty Takes Aim At Gun Ruling
Today Mayor Adrian Fenty formally announced he's appealing the U.S. Appellate Court's decision to overturn the city's restrictive handgun laws. The statutes, on the books for over 30 years, severely limit firearms ownership, a policy the court said violates the Second Amendment. Fenty's appeal comes as no surprise. Though we found mixed reactions in early March, most D.C. officials support the ban.
The mayor's case will first be reheard in the Court of Appeals, but it has the possibility of landing in the Supreme Court's hands. There it's likely the conservative judges will support the lower court's ruling.
House Republicans are also itching to end the District's gun ban. As we all know, they unexpectedly attached their own legislation to overturn the ban onto the District Voting Rights Bill. Democrats then postponed voting on the bill, with no concrete word of when it will reach the floor again (though mid-April is likely). What does all of this really mean? It could take a very long time for the powers that be to determine the future of firearms in the District.
Photo by Flickr user FrogMiller
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I don't think this will get to SCOTUS for a number of reasons, among them the fact that they haven't ruled on a major 2nd Amendment case since the 1930s; they're inclined to let the lower court ruling stay. That said, the current Court of Appeals case will be watched eagerly by both sides. Anybody know the current composition of the appeals court?
Probably a bunch of old, rich, white guys. But who knows?!
While there are some interesting legal issues here, from a practical standpoint this issue has already been decided by the people of DC and the MPD. DC is a gun owner's haven with more than enough firearms to keep the city near the top of the nation's homicide lists for years to come. You can have all the gun laws you want, but when the beat cops roll through open air drug markets while talking on their cell phones with the window's rolled up, it really isn't going to matter.