Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Court Declares District of Columbia’s Ban on Bearing Arms Unconstitutional

Monday, July 28, 2014

Court Declares District of Columbia’s Ban on Bearing Arms Unconstitutional

The nation's capital, long infamous for its strict gun control, is now one step closer to being forced to comply with the Second Amendment. On Saturday, July 26, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision in Palmer v. District of Columbia, which challenged D.C.'s ban on carrying firearms in public for self-defense. The court's decision prohibits D.C. officials from enforcing certain provisions of local law that interfere with the constitutional right to bear arms outside the home.

D.C.’s former ban on handguns, of course, resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which in 2008 recognized an individual right under the Second Amendment to possess firearms for self-defense. Two years later, the Supreme Court made clear in McDonald v. Chicago that the right recognized in Heller protects individuals from infringement by all levels of government, including federal, state, and local.  

Heller and McDonald, however, only challenged the regulations at issue to the extent they applied to keeping firearms in the home. The Supreme Court did not offer explicit guidance on the degree to which the right to "bear" arms applied to carrying firearms in public places for defensive purposes, because that issue was not squarely before it in those cases. Nevertheless, its characterization of the Second Amendment made judicial recognition of the right to bear arms outside the home all but inevitable.

In recent years, federal appellate courts have yielded to the obvious and recognized that the right to bear arms indeed extends beyond one's front door. Notable decisions have included the NRA-backed cases of Shepard v. Madigan, which arose out of an Illinois ban on carrying in public, and Peruta v. San Diego County, which concerned a local regulation that made California's discretionary licensing system for carry an effective prohibition. These precedents featured prominently in the Palmer court's relatively short, straightforward opinion in that case.   

According to the court's opinion in Palmer, "In light of Heller, McDonald and their progeny, there is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny."

Predictably, D.C. officials and other gun control advocates have reacted negatively to the decision and have engaged in the same sort of overheated rhetoric about the supposedly "special" dangers of firearms being present in the District as they did during the Heller case. Of course, none of their dire predictions have come to pass as a result of the Heller decision. As with Heller, nothing in the court's decision on Saturday prevents the enforcement of laws pertaining to the criminal misuse of firearms. In both cases, the challenged restrictions made no attempt to distinguish between people who wanted firearms for legitimate versus criminal purposes. Thus, the decisions benefit only those peaceable individuals who conform their behavior to the law, not violent criminals who ignore the law and exploit the law-abiding tendencies of others to further their own criminal activities.

At this time, much remains unclear about the practical effects of the decision, particularly as regards those who are not D.C. residents with D.C. registered firearms. Besides the provisions that were specifically at issue in the case, D.C. has additional regulations governing the possession of firearms, ammunition, and magazines that apparently remain unaffected and that could easily snare unwary visitors to the District. 

For a brief period of time, the MPD, acting on the advice of the D.C. Attorney General’s Office, had suspended enforcement of the laws enjoined by the court’s opinion. Pictures emerged of individuals who took advantage of this opportunity to exercise their right publicly to carry firearms in D.C.

By Monday, however, District officials had petitioned the court to withhold the effect of its decision pending appeal, or in the alternative, for 180 days to allow the D.C. Council to enact new regulations to comply with the opinion. The plaintiffs agreed to a more limited delay of 90 days, and on Tuesday the court issued an order staying the effect of its decision for 90 days to allow D.C. to revisit its laws and to allow the plaintiffs to file arguments against a longer stay pending appeal. The court’s Tuesday order effectively reinstates the status quo that existed before its Saturday ruling, meaning that D.C.’s laws against carrying firearms in public can continue to be enforced.

Whether the District will seek further review of the court's decision remains to be seen. District officials have 30 days in which to appeal the case.  We will provide further updates as more information becomes available.

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Turned FOID Bill Removed from Hearing Schedule

Monday, February 24, 2025

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Turned FOID Bill Removed from Hearing Schedule

Today, Senate Bill 25-003, the near all-encompassing semi-automatic ban turned permit-to-purchase scheme, was removed from the hearing scheduled in the House Judiciary on March 4th.

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

News  

Second Amendment  

Friday, February 7, 2025

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

Today, the White House announced a new Executive Order to protect and expand the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. This is the first action taken by President Donald J. Trump to carry through ...

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

News  

Monday, February 24, 2025

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

“Lawfare” is the misuse of the legal system to damage political or business opponents, either through frivolous lawsuits in which the cost of defending becomes too much to bear or through the pursuit of political ...

Tenth Circuit Sidesteps Bruen with Nonviolent Felon Ruling

News  

Monday, February 24, 2025

Tenth Circuit Sidesteps Bruen with Nonviolent Felon Ruling

As NRA-ILA pointed out last week, the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022) has prompted a long-overdue reappraisal of the federal law as it pertains ...

Hogg Roasted Over Using DNC Resources to Raise Funds for His Own Project (and Employer)

News  

Monday, February 24, 2025

Hogg Roasted Over Using DNC Resources to Raise Funds for His Own Project (and Employer)

A few weeks ago, we noted that anti-gun activist David Hogg wanted to be a Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair.  We suggested caution be exercised before the DNC put an impulsive, often ill-informed individual with little ...

Colorado: More Gun Control Moves in the House

Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Colorado: More Gun Control Moves in the House

Late last night, House Bill 25-1133, which places age restrictions on all ammunition purchases, passed on the House floor with bipartisan opposition.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to New York’s “Concealed Carry Improvement Act”

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to New York’s “Concealed Carry Improvement Act”

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to New York’s “Concealed Carry Improvement Act.”

UPDATE: Legislation Introduced to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

News  

Wednesday, February 26, 2025

UPDATE: Legislation Introduced to Protect Veterans’ Second Amendment Rights

The Chairmen of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs, U.S. Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12) and Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), as well as Senator John Kennedy (R-LA), have reintroduced the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act ...

Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

News  

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Defending the Indefensible: Court Strikes Illinois FOID Card Law

Lawmakers in Illinois have a long track record of irrational gun bans and restrictions based on the idea that public safety is best served by disarming criminals and law-abiding citizens alike, even if that means ...

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

News  

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

The Hearing Protection Act Introduced in the 119th Congress

U.S. Representative Ben Cline (R-VA-06) and U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) recently reintroduced the Hearing Protection Act (H.R. 404/S. 364) in the 119th Congress. This commonsense legislation will give gun owners and hunters the opportunity to ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.