DC to Appeal in Gun Ban Double Defeat to Supreme Court - FINALLY, The Showdown

July 17, 2007

D.C. to Appeal in Handgun Ban Case

NewsMax.com Wires Monday, July 16, 2007

WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia officials said Monday they plan to

petition the Supreme Court in an attempt to keep the city's 30-year-old ban

on most handguns.

A federal appeals court panel struck down the law in March, rejecting the

city's argument that the Second Amendment right to bear arms applied only to

militias. The full appeals court refused to reconsider the decision in May.

"We believe we are right on the law and we hope the Supreme Court will agree

with us," D.C. Attorney General Linda Singer said.

If the high court takes up the case, it would mark the first time in 70

years that justices will consider the breadth of the Second Amendment. In

2003, the court chose not to take a case that challenged California's ban on

assault weapons.

Washington's gun law was enacted in 1976 and bars residents from keeping

handguns in their homes and prohibits the carrying of a gun without a

license. Registered firearms must be kept unloaded and disassembled.

City officials say the ban is needed because of consistently high homicide

rates. The law has remained in effect during the appeals process.

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