The 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling to invalidate the D.C., handgun ban was met with disappointment by government officials in the District and, according to some officials, would not affect most handgun laws in the U
“I’m disappointed in the court’s ruling and believe introducing more handguns into the District will mean more handgun violence,” D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said of the high court’s June 26 decision in the District of Columbia v. Heller. “But I want to emphasize that our gun laws remain in effect. It may be several weeks before there are changes to announce.
“In the meantime, I have directed the (police department) to implement an orderly process for allowing qualified citizens to register handguns for lawful possessions in their homes.” In 1976, in response to a rash of gun violence in the city, the D.C. City Council enacted one of the most restrictive handgun laws in the country.
Residents were not allowed to own a handgun unless they had the approval of the police chief, obtained a license, kept trigger locks on it and reapplied for the right to have it each year. David Heller, a District resident and special police officer who works for the Federal Judicial Center, challenged the law after being denied the right to own a handgun by D.C. officials. D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said she appreciated the court clarifying the Second Amendment.
A constitutional law scholar in her own right, she predicted the ruling would likely produce an increase in gun violence but, she said, most handgun laws in the U.S. will not be affected by the decision. “The decision’s most serious effect is the increase in handguns in the home, where guns typically do the greatest damage in this country that the ruling will inspire,” Norton said.
The “decision is likely to encourage law-abiding people to buy guns, with the likelihood that the ruling will produce an increase in accidents and gun violence among family members and even neighbors, as some in the rush of anger, fetch the guns to escalate or settle a dispute,” Norton said.
She added that the “ruling turned on the absolute nature of the District ban,” she said, “and largely has the effect of encouraging the District to bring its laws into line with many others in this country and to go even further than many.” D.C. City Council Chairman Vincent Gray said the council will work to implement the court decision but that public safety is priority.
He said that, in a few weeks, the council will study the decision by looking at the handgun laws in such cities as New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Chicago, and will craft a response to the decision based on the information gathered.
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspapers.
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