U.S. Appeals Court Refuses To Hear D.C.'s Latest Attack on Gun Rights

ola olugbemi | September 29, 2017
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On Thursday, a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. declined to revisit a prior court decision barring D.C. officials from enforcing the District's strict concealed carry laws. The decision follows a prior July appellate ruling against the restrictive laws against owning firearms, and was delivered without explanation.

Back in August, D.C. Attorney General, Karl A. Racine, had asked the 11-member U.S. Court of Appeals to rehear the city's challenge in favor of its restrictive gun laws, which currently mandates D.C. residents have a "good reason to fear injury" -- subjectively determined by the city, of course -- to carry concealed firearms.

A Washington Post article quoted city officials who claimed the city's current gun restrictions were "common sense gun rules," saying that District citizens, through their elected representatives, decided that carrying a weapon without a good reason does not meet standards of public safety. 

However, the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who issued the opinion of the court in the initial 2008 case, District of Columbia v. Heller, stated, "[W]hat is not debatable is that it is not the role of this Court to pronounce the Second Amendment extinct."

Since then, appellate courts have ruled D.C.'s strict gun requirements are tantamount to an all-out ban on citizens' Second Amendment rights.

The current citywide gun restrictions will remain in effect for seven more calendar days. Afterward, D.C. officials have the option to ask the Circuit Court to put the decision on hold, seek another review by the Supreme Court, or abide by the law of the land. 

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