On Tuesday, a three-judge panel of the D.C. federal Court of Appeals heard challenges to the District’s firearms laws, which place rigid restrictions on concealed-carry permits. Currently, applicants for a CCP license must demonstrate a “good reason to fear injury,” resulting in a paltry 89 permits issued since a federal court struck down the District’s handgun ban more than two years ago.
The pro-Second Amendment plaintiffs challenging the legislation assert that the city’s gun laws are so strict that they prevent most law-abiding gun owners from carrying firearms. The NRA is also weighing in, stating the right to keep and bear arms takes “certain policy choices off the table.” “Municipal leaders, no matter how well-intentioned, cannot simply enact any gun control law that they deem to be reasonable,” NRA lawyer Paul Clement elaborated.
And in an interview with CNN, UCLA School of Law professor Adam Winkler put an even finer point on the implications of this case: “This is the most important question in the Second Amendment today. Whether people can carry guns in public and under what conditions is a major battleground.”
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