Mayor Fenty on Monday said he will ask the Supreme Court to rescue D.C.’s 30-year-old handgun ban, setting up a potential legal battle that could impact restrictions in cities nationwide.
Joined by Attorney General Linda Singer, Police Chief Cathy Lanier and members of the D.C. Council, Fenty said the District will file its petition with the high court on Sept. 5 .
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“I can say without any reservation that the handgun ban of the District of Columbia has saved many lives and will continue to do so if it remains in force,” Fenty said. If the case is heard by the high court, it could have major implications, legal scholars said.
“The Supreme Court hasn’t really treated it substantially, the meaning of the Second Amendment, much at all in the 200-plus years of the Bill of Rights,” said Benjamin Wittes with the Brookings Institution. “It poses more questions than it answers.”
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on March 9 struck down D.C’s ban on handguns in homes. The decision in Parker v. The District of Columbia, a case brought by D.C. residents who sought to possess “functional firearms,” found that the Second Amendment protected an individual’s right to keep a gun in his or her home. But lawyers say that decision contradicted precedent — that the Second Amendment also allows a local government to pass reasonable restrictions on gun possession by individuals.
Singer said her office “carefully considered the legal and policy issues” before moving forward, citing decades of rulings on the city’s side. But the District has examined how it might rewrite its law just in case. Most restrict handgun use rather than ban it.
“As a practical matter, gun laws like those in the District of Columbia are abysmal failures wherever they are in place …” said Roger Pilon with the Cato Institute, co-counsel for the plaintiffs. “They disarm law-abiding citizens while criminals ignore them with impunity.” Justices, if they take the case, could overrule D.C.’s prohibition while preserving laws elsewhere, Wittes said. Still, officials expect New York, Chicago and other cities to stand with the capital if the matter reaches the high court.
That support may not prove persuasive, some experts said.
“If you were a betting person,” Wittes said, “I’m not sure you would bet on [D.C.’s] chances.”
