The D.C. handgun ban case going before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday has nationwide ramifications. It could settle the meaning of the Second Amendment, overturn gun-control laws across the country and erupt into a campaign issue in the run for the presidency.
But what will it mean for District residents if the justices strike down the city’s ban?
For Alan Gura, the attorney representing the challenger to the District’s gun ban, the answer is simple.
“Should we prevail, people in Washington will be able to register handguns for the first time since 1976, and people will be able to use their guns to defend themselves in their homes,” Gura said. “That’s all we’re asking for. It’s not going to undermine the city’s ability to regulate guns.”
But D.C. interim Attorney General Peter Nickles, who refused to talk about a District loss because he’s confident that the city will prevail, says the answer is more complex.
“The Supreme Court decision is not going to say, ‘You lose the case,’ ” Nickles said. The decision will have many pages and examine many different issues, and could be remanded to the lower court.
The city has prepared for all contingencies, Nickles said. “I know how to read a Supreme Court decision, and we’ll react accordingly.”
The court will likely render its decision this summer and after that the District will have a 90-day period before the ruling takes effect, according to D.C. police.
The safety of District residents and visitors is at stake, said D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier.
“The weakening of the District’s gun law will inevitably lead to an increase in injury, and worse, death,” Lanier said in a statement. “This is more than just a legal matter. It is a decision that impacts the safety and well-being of our residents.”
D.C. Council Member Mary Cheh, who was scrambling to find a seat in the venerable courtroom, said even if the court finds that gun ownership is an individual right, that right can be reasonably regulated by local governments. The Supreme Court could define what that standard is but will more than likely send it back to a lower court, Cheh said.
“You could be talking months, months and months,” Cheh said, “and then you don’t necessarily have a resolution.”
Just the facts about D.C.’s handgun ban
» The District’s law essentially prohibits private citizens from owning handguns but allows D.C. police officers, federal agents and certified security guards to have them. Shotguns and rifles are legal but must be disassembled or trigger-locked.
» More than 60,000 guns are already registered, including more than 40,000 handguns belonging to law enforcement officers or people who owned the guns before 1976.
» The interest in the case is so high that the court will have C-SPAN broadcast the oral arguments late Tuesday morning. The case has drawn the fourth-most friend-of-the-court briefs in the Supreme Court’s history, city officials said.
