D.C. Unveils Proposed Updates to Gun Laws

Washington, D.C. Democrat Phil Mendelson has introduced legislation to update D.C.'s gun laws to comply with the Supreme Court's decision that certain challenged provisions were unconstitutional.

The bill specifically addresses the majority opinion written by Justice Antonin Scalia that said, "We hold that the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense."

Technically, the legislation would still require that firearms be kept unloaded and disabled, but it would provide a broad exception for guns that are present in the home for the purpose of "immediate self-defense." The exception is intended to address the high court's objection to a requirement that all guns be kept unloaded and either disassembled or outfitted with trigger locks.

The legislation may not become law until voted upon by the D.C. Council in the fall, although Mendelson indicated that he would consider passing it as emergency legislation.

Notably, the proposed legislation would continue to ban all semiautomatic handguns, i.e., pistols. Alan Gura, the attorney who successfully sued to overturn the current D.C. law, thinks (rightly, I believe) that such a ban is unconstitutional.

My bet is that D.C. will continue to stonewall as long as possible, and more expensive and time-consuming lawsuits will become necessary to force the city's anti-gun leadership to respect the constitutional rights of its residents.