The District of Columbia filed a petition Monday challenging a federal appeals court’s decision to overturn the city’s 31-year ban on handguns.
District leaders and police said the 2-1 decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will make the streets of the nation’s capital more dangerous.
“More guns, simply put, leads to more violence,” said Mayor Adrian Fenty, speaking outside the federal court.
The city is seeking a rehearing before 11 appeals court judges. The city’s gun law will remain intact while legal proceedings play out.
Last month, the federal appeals court panel deemed the law unconstitutional, ruling that the District cannot prevent people from keeping handguns in their homes.
The decision marked the first time a federal appeals court struck down a gun law on Second Amendment grounds. The ruling also struck down a requirement that owners of registered firearms keep them unloaded and disassembled.
Washington and Chicago are the only major U.S. cities that ban handguns.
