Brady Center Urges Federal Appeals Court to Uphold New DC Gun Law

Sep 20, 2010

Washington, D.C. – The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, joined by national law enforcement organizations, filed an amicus brief today in federal appeals court in Washington arguing that the District of Columbia’s new gun laws are constitutional.

Dick Heller, the same person who successfully challenged the District’s handgun ban in the U.S. Supreme Court, is seeking to have the court strike down District’s new gun laws.  These new laws were enacted to conform with the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.  Although the District’s new laws allow Mr. Heller to have a handgun in his home for self defense (pursuant to the ruling by the Supreme Court), he is claiming that the Second Amendment does not permit the District to prohibit military-style assault weapons, or require proficiency testing, registration and licensing, or to limit his handgun registrations to one per month. These gun laws withstood a constitutional challenge by Mr. Heller in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.  Mr. Heller then appealed the court’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Read the rest of this entry »