DC Just Sacrificed A Gun Control Law To Help Other Places Save Theirs

Dana Liebelson
Updated
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON ― D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine, a Democrat, announced on Thursday that his office will not ask the Supreme Court to review a federal court ruling blocking the enforcement of a tough gun restriction law. While the move might open up the nation’s capital to an increase in concealed firearms in public, it could also protect similar gun regulation laws in other states such as California and New York.

The District’s law requires residents who want to carry a concealed pistol to have a “proper reason,” like transporting valuables, or “a good reason to fear injury.” (Simply living in a “high crime area” doesn’t count.)

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit blocked the city from enforcing the law in July, comparing it to a ban on District residents’ gun rights, and declined to revisit the case in September. Without an appeal to SCOTUS, the court’s order forbidding enforcement of the law will go into effect. People are expected to be able to start applying for concealed carry permits without the requirement within the next few days.

The decision arrives less than a week after a deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, left 59 people dead. Gun control advocates are questioning why Congress refuses to pass meaningful reforms. But in the District, what looks like another blow to gun control is more complicated, as the move could help states with similar gun restrictions, like California, New York and New Jersey, protect their own laws for the time being. Those state laws could have been impacted had D.C. faced a loss in the Supreme Court.

“Public safety is, and has always been, my paramount concern,” Racine said in a statement. “However, we must reckon with the fact that an adverse decision by the Supreme Court could have wide-ranging negative effects not just on District residents, but on the country as a whole.”

He added that the consensus, reached with the help of multiple stakeholders, “was the wisest course of action to protect public safety in the District and nationwide.”

If the District had appealed to the Supreme Court and lost, that decision could have set up a legal precedent that would overturn restrictions in other states, gun control advocates feared. In California, for example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a law in June 2016 that requires people to show “just cause” for needing to carry a concealed handgun. The Supreme Court declined to hear a Second Amendment challenge to that law.

“It’s a very courageous decision by D.C.,” said Avery Gardiner, co-president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence. “Politically, I bet a lot of people would have advised an attorney general to appeal to the Supreme Court, but they’ve done a very brave thing and said no.”

The city could still pass other kinds of restrictions, Gardiner pointed out.

On a national level, conservatives and the National Rifle Association are pushing for “concealed carry reciprocity,” which would require states to recognize concealed carry gun permits from all other states. Some Republican members of Congress even want to carry concealed inside the U.S. Capitol building.

“I feel like I have very good aim. My wife is better,” Rep. Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) told HuffPost earlier this year.

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1981: The Attempted Assassination Of President Ronald Reagan

on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.
on March 30, 1981, President Reagan and three others were shot and wounded in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr. outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan's press secretary, Jim Brady, was shot in the head.

1993: The Brady Handgun Violence Act

The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
The Brady Handgun Violence Act of 1993, signed into law by President Bill Clinton, mandated that federally licensed dealers complete comprehensive background checks on individuals before selling them a gun. The legislation was named for James Brady, who was shot during an attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in 1981.

1994: The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1994, instituted a ban on 19 kinds of assault weapons, including Uzis and AK-47s. The crime bill also banned the possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition. (An exemption was made for weapons and magazines manufactured prior to the ban.)

2004: Law Banning Magazines Holding More Than Ten Rounds Of Ammunition Expires

In 2004, ten years after it first became law, Congress allowed a provision banning possession of magazines holding more than ten rounds of ammunition to expire through a sunset provision. Brady Campaign President Paul Helmke told HuffPost that the expiration of this provision meant that Rep. Gabby Giffords's alleged shooter was able to fire off 20-plus shots without reloading (under the former law he would have had only ten).

2007: The U.S. Court of Appeals For The District Of Columbia Rules In Favor Of Dick Heller

In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.
In 2007 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled to allow Dick Heller, a licensed District police officer, to keep a handgun in his home in Washington, D.C. Following that ruling, the defendants petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case.

2008: Supreme Court Strikes Down D.C. Handgun Ban As Unconstitutional

In June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case <em>District of Columbia v. Heller</em>.
In June of 2008, the United States Supreme Court upheld the verdict of a lower court ruling the D.C. handgun ban unconstitutional in the landmark case District of Columbia v. Heller.

Gabrielle Giffords And Trayvon Martin Shootings

Gun control advocates had high hopes that reform efforts would have increased momentum in the wake of two tragic events that rocked the nation. In January of 2011, Jared Loughner opened fire at an event held by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), killing six and injuring 13, including the congresswoman. Resulting attempts to push gun control legislation <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">proved fruitless</a>, with neither proposal even succeeding in gaining a single GOP co-sponsor. More than a year after that shooting, Florida teenager Trayvon Martin was <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/trayvon-martin" target="_hplink">gunned down</a> by George Zimmerman in an event that some believed would bring increased scrutiny on the nation's Stand Your Ground laws. While there has been increasing discussion over the nature of those statutes, lawmakers were <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">quick to concede</a> that they had little faith the event would effectively spur gun control legislation, thanks largely to the National Rifle Association's vast lobbying power. Read more <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/trayvon-martin-shooting-gun-debate_n_1413115.html" target="_hplink">here</a>:

Colorado Movie Theater Shooting

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Sikh Temple Shooting

On August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on a Sikhs gathered at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killing six and wounding four more before turning the gun on himself.
On August 5, 2012, white supremacist Wade Michael Page opened fire on a Sikhs gathered at a temple in Oak Creek, Wis., killing six and wounding four more before turning the gun on himself.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.