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washingtonpost.com

After DC gun ban overturned, city seeks new rules

By BRIAN WESTLEY
The Associated Press
Saturday, July 5, 2008; 11:56 AM

WASHINGTON -- Dale Metta, who manages a gun shop just outside the District of Columbia limits in Maryland, has had to turn away dozens of city residents wanting to buy handguns in recent days. Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court just struck down Washington's 32-year-old ban on possessing handguns.

"I'd like to sell anything I have," said Metta. But he won't just yet _ not until the city draws up new regulations.

The Supreme Court's decision June 26 rebuffed the strictest gun law in the nation.

The National Rifle Association called it "a great moment in American history." But prospective gun buyers and sellers said they remain on hold, awaiting the response of D.C. officials who are scrambling to draft new handgun regulations that comply with the court ruling.

"There's nothing we can do until we know what they will do," Metta said.

Metta, manager of Atlantic Guns in Silver Spring, Md., said his store fielded about 75 calls from D.C. residents after the ruling. Other gun shops outside the city _ which has no shops of its own _ also received calls. They, too, were turning prospective buyers away.

Writing for a 5-4 majority, Justice Antonin Scalia 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."

Washington's gun ban took effect in 1976 and essentially outlawed private ownership of handguns in a city struggling with violence.

In 1974, two years before the ban took effect, more than half of all homicides were committed with handguns. But what impact the ban has had on crime has long been debated, particularly after homicides more than doubled during a crack epidemic in the late 1980s and early 90s.

Supporters of the ban lamented the court ruling, but vowed to maintain the strictest handgun measures allowed.

"The Supreme Court's decision last week was regrettable; nonetheless, it is the law of the land," D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson said. He introduced legislation Tuesday to repeal the handgun ban and propose new requirements.

Besides banning handguns, D.C. law required that rifles and shotguns be kept unloaded and disassembled, or equipped with trigger locks _ restrictions Mendelson's bill would still retain. But, bowing to the high court, he offered a broad exemption for guns kept at home for "immediate self-defense."

Gun rights advocates called the bill's wording too narrow, questioning how someone would interpret an immediate need for protection.

"That's a troublesome approach," said John Snyder, of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. He accused the city of trying to make it "as difficult as possible for people to defend themselves."

Mendelson's bill also would require a ballistics record for handguns and a waiting period for registration to be determined by the police chief.

Critics, meanwhile, charged the proposal doesn't address the city's unusual regulation of machine guns, which D.C. defines as weapons that shoot at least 12 rounds without reloading. That restriction applies to many popular semiautomatic firearms.

It remains uncertain how quickly the D.C. Council will move to enact new regulations. Mendelson said, if needed, he will propose emergency action July 15, before the group's summer recess starts.

The city's ban was to remain in effect at least three weeks after the Supreme Court's ruling, until a lower court issues an injunction. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's administration also is drafting new regulations.

Many are waiting anxiously.

Allan Lucas, a licensed firearms instructor in D.C., is among those concerned about how new regulations will affect him.

He has been trying for two years to open an indoor shooting range in the city to train security guards and other clients. Because the city currently has no zoning category for such a business, he takes his clients to ranges in the suburbs.

"It's pretty ridiculous to think of so many people qualifying to register for firearms and not having a range to practice on," he said.

John McRae, who has lived in Washington for 40 of his 64 years, is among those thinking of buying a gun once the rules are settled. He said he wants to protect himself from armed criminals.

"If they come into my house, I can't use a broomstick," McRae said.

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press1280

I wonder how DC residents can buy a handgun if there are no stores (or FFLs) in DC to begin with?

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And if the cabin door of the freedman is broken open and the intruder enters for purposes as vile as were known to slavery, then should a well-loaded musket be in the hand of the occupant to send the polluted wretch to another world, where his wretchedness will forever remain complete

Tubby45

There's one FFL in DC. It's a guy that runs the Violence Policy Center.

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Eagleks

I heard that a "question" was presented about still keeping "semi-auto hand guns" banned, and they got an "answer" of NO..... because they are "normal" and common guns.

DC is going to ban and make everything inoperable that they can. Idiots. I imagine they'll be in court again.

archer51

Unless there is a special exemption for DC residents that I am not aware of, he can't sale them a handgun anyway. Federal law prohibits buying/selling handguns across state lines. If the DC resident knows someone with a FFL in DC that can do a transfer, that is allowed.

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Better to die with a weapon in hand, than to live with the boot of oppression on your throat.-Unknown

press1280

So I guess that means gun shows for DC residents to buy a handgun(or someone's family member kicks the bucket and wills it to them)?

__________________
And if the cabin door of the freedman is broken open and the intruder enters for purposes as vile as were known to slavery, then should a well-loaded musket be in the hand of the occupant to send the polluted wretch to another world, where his wretchedness will forever remain complete

spetrola

What scares me is that crime here is so bad that the police officers have to carry "machine guns" to protect themselves.


Scott

bandit383

But DC is not a state...so not sure why there would be a restriction.

Rick

falcon1

I know that DC has "floated" the position that semi-automatics are indeed still banned. Is it not the case, however, that the case has been remanded to the U. S. district court to compel DC to act in accordance with the SCOTUS decision? And, if DC does not do as directed, it will come back to the same Circuit Court that overturned the ban initially. I suspect that, despite some current grandstanding, DC may end up with less wiggle room than it wants.

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If the public are bound to yield obedience to laws to which they cannot give their approbation, they are slaves to those who make such laws and enforce them.--Candidus (in the Boston Gazette, 20 January 1772)

archer51

True. DC is not a state, but the residents of DC are not residents of PA, VA, MD or any other state, so they can not purchase a handgun there.

__________________
Better to die with a weapon in hand, than to live with the boot of oppression on your throat.-Unknown