More on Washington D.C.'s Appeal

D.C. to Appeal Handgun Case to High Court

By David Nakamura
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 16, 2007; 2:44 PM

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty announced today that the city will appeal to the Supreme Court to uphold a long-time ban on handguns that was overturned by a lower court in March.

"The handgun ban has saved many lives and will continue to do so if it remains in effect," Fenty said at a morning news conference.

(If this is so, then how come Washington D.C. is the murder capitol of the USA? -Yuri)

In a 2-1 decision, a panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit found three months ago that the city's prohibition against residents keeping handguns in their homes is unconstitutional. In May, the full appeals court declined a petition from the city to reconsider the panel's decision.

There is no guarantee that the Supreme Court will even hear the city's appeal. The high court has not ruled on a Second Amendment case since 1930, D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer said. She said she consulted numerous legal experts before recommending to Fenty (D) two weeks ago to appeal the case.

While many have said that the city should fight the appeals court ruling, some cautioned that a defeat in the Supreme Court could carry severe ramifications across the country for other cities whose gun control laws could overturned.

"We're right on the law," said Singer, adding that the city's ban on most handguns will remain in effect during the appeals process.

"Wherever I go, the response from the residents is, 'Mayor Fenty, you've got to fight this all the way to the Supreme Court,' " Fenty said.

The city's three-decade-old gun ban was challenged by six D.C. residents who said they wanted to keep guns in their homes for self-defense. The District's law bars all handguns unless they were registered before 1976; it was passed that year to try to curb gun violence, but it has come under attack since then in Congress and in the courts.

Alan Gura, an attorney who represented the plaintiffs in the case that overturned the gun-ban, predicted the high court would affirm the lower court's decision.

"We're very pleased the case will go to the Supreme Court," Gura said. "We believe it will hear the case and will affirm that the Bill of Rights does protect the individual."

A central question the D.C. case poses is whether the Second Amendment protects an individual's rights to bear arms. Experts say that gun-rights advocates have never had a better chance for a major Second Amendment victory, because a significant number of justices on the Supreme Court have indicated a preference for the individual-rights interpretation.

Singer said she expects to receive legal assistance from several high-profile Constitution experts, as well as other cities. She said she will ask for a 30-day extension on the deadline to file her appeal with the Supreme Court, pushing that date to Sept. 5.

"If the U.S. Supreme Court decides to hear this case, it could produce the most significant Second Amendment ruling in our history," Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said in a statement. "If the U.S. Supreme Court follows the words of the U.S. Constitution and the Court's own precedents, it should reverse the Appeals Court ruling and allow the District's law to stand."

It's happening - Washington D.C. to appeal!

BREAKING NEWS -- Washington D.C. Will Appeal To Keep The City's Gun Ban!

As many know, the 30-year gun ban in the District of Columbia was overturned two months ago by a U.S. Court of Appeals. Just yesterday (July 15) on "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk," I interviewed Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, about this decision, and we speculated on whether D.C. mayor Adrian M. Fenty would appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Today, Fenty said, "We have made the determination that this law can and should be defended."

WHAT'S AT STAKE

This case hinges on whether the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution applies to people or to governments. In a twisted interpretation, several lower courts have ruled that the Second Amendment ("A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed") is the ONLY amendment which does not spell out rights guaranteed to people. For some reason, these courts have decided that the founding fathers, having just fought a terrible war of independence from a strong central government, wanted to guarantee that only the government had a right to have guns. Go figure.

When the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans stated (in the Emerson case) several years ago that the Second Amendment was an individual right, it stirred up a hornet's nest. Following that, the U.S. Justice Department under John Ashcroft adopted the position that the Second Amendment was an individual right.

This all came on the heels of 20 years of law journal articles which supported the individual right position, and even famed constitutional scholar Lawrence Tribe changed his book on constitutional law to reflect the current thinking -- that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to firearms.

Now, the D.C. Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the individual right position, putting it in conflict with other circuit courts -- a perfect setup for this case to be heard by SCOTUS.

This is high stakes poker, friends. The Supremes could rule that individuals have absolutely no right to firearms. It could go the other way. Or, as some think most likely, it will rule to uphold the lower court decision (or refuse to take the case, letting that decision stand), and leave us with a better-but-uncertain outcome. Why? Because the D.C. court ruled that while the District's gun ban was unconstitutional because it was a total ban, that some gun control laws are legal, as long as they are "reasonable."

And there lies the challenge.

All sides of the gun rights issue will spare no expense to work on this case. This may be the big one that activists have wanted, and yet have feared.

You can bet we'll be talking about it on "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk" in the coming weeks, and we'll keep you up to date.

Keep your powder dry!

Tom Gresham