Despite the Supreme Court ruling of less than a month ago, which tossed out the ban on handguns in the nation’s capitol, the D.C. City Council has passed an “emergency law” in an apparent attempt to negate that Supreme Court ruling.

On June 26 the Supreme Court upheld the idea that the Constitution’s Second Amendment does indeed protect an individual right to keep and bear arms, in the home for self-defense as well as for hunting and sport. But there were flaws in the decision as discussed in an excellent analysis by journalist Warren Mass in an article for this Website entitled: “Supreme Court Ruling Affirms Second Amendment.” Now, those flaws have already come home to roost.

By insisting that government confers the right to keep and bear arms, the Supreme Court opened the door for heavy regulation and registration rules for guns and their owners. And it is exactly on this flaw that the D.C. City Council has based its new emergency laws.

Residents of our nation’s crime-ridden capitol must obtain a city-issued permit and can keep handguns in their homes only for self-defense. But the self-defense principle is immediately negated by also requiring them to keep their firearms unloaded, disassembled or secured with trigger locks unless they are facing a “threat of immediate harm,” in their homes only; not backyards or front driveways. As criminals rarely allow their victims the amount of time it takes to fiddle around trying to put a gun together in order to protect oneself, this provision will only serve as the impetus for potential prosecution of homeowners who do happen to use their firearms in defense of their homes and families, and further serves to protect criminals.

The registration process and mandates for obtaining a gun permit are burdensome and highly restrictive. The process, according to city officials, could take months with applicants having to submit their weapons to the police chief for an expensive ballistic fingerprinting test. Individuals must be fingerprinted themselves and need to demonstrate their proficiency with their weapon as well as passing a written safety test and vision exam. Anyone with a previous criminal record from a variety of charges may be barred from obtaining a permit.

And then there’s the business of outlawing a whole class of guns, namely semi-automatic pistols, the weapon of choice comprising 75 percent of all handgun sales in the United States. Any gun that carries more than 11 rounds is automatically disqualified from ownership, as well as are those that load from the bottom.

These provisions are some of the toughest in the nation and both the NRA and Bill of rights Foundation will be filing lawsuits to fight the district’s new rules. "This is a blatant defiance of a Supreme Court ruling, a defiance of the law" says Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America (GOA), "There is no question that their 'emergency legislation' will be challenged and overturned."

But putting it back in the hands of the court is still very worrisome. A better way would be for Congress to uphold the Constitution by limiting the appellate jurisdiction of the federal courts when matters of the Second Amendment are concerned.
 

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