When a panel of three judges from the District of Columbia Circuit Court ruled over the summer that the Second Amendment protected the right to carry firearms in public, it destroyed the legal justification for D.C.’s “good reason” requirement for concealed carry licenses. The local government appealed for an en banc hearing before the entire circuit court, but the court has now declined to revisit the case.
“Sometimes the most important thing a court does is not do anything,” said Adam Winkler, a University of California-Los Angeles law professor and Second Amendment authority, speaking to FOX News. “Because of what the D.C. Circuit didn’t do today, the Supreme Court is now far more likely to take a concealed-carry case.”
The Washington Post also reported that the court’s decision means D.C. will no longer be able to enforce its strict controls on issuing concealed-carry permits. The city may request a hold on the ruling while it determines whether to submit the case to review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
