Washington, D.C., legislators are looking to repeal a ban on stun-gun ownership after three residents filed a federal suit challenging its constitutionality. This week, the District decided not to enforce the prohibition against the three, making the way for city lawmakers to prepare legislation to lift the long-standing ban.
In March—eight years after the Heller decision—the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Massachusetts’ highest courts, which claimed the Second Amendment wasn’t applicable with regards to a ban on stun guns.While stun guns are currently banned in several states, constitutional supporters say the regulations limit self-defense rights. “(It’s) a first step to greater Second Amendment rights for D.C. residents,” the three plaintiffs’ attorney, George L. Lyon Jr., told The Washington Post, adding, “I think they have effectively conceded that the ban is unconstitutional.”
While self-defense advocates are celebrating the decision, billionaire former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety released a statement saying such reversals “could have profound effects on Second Amendment cases more broadly.”
