Judge Strikes Down DC's Handgun Ban

A federal judge has ruled that Washington DC's ban on openly carrying firearms in unconstitutional.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin is the latest in a protracted fight over gun laws here. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark decision striking down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns. Since then, the city has rewritten its laws, lawsuits have been filed and even Congress has waded into the fight. In a decision made public Saturday, Judge Scullin concluded that the Second Amendment gives people the right to carry a gun outside the home for self-defense. He cited two U.S. Supreme Court cases as important to his ruling—the 2008 opinion striking down the District of Columbia's ban and a 2010 ruling involving Chicago's handgun ban. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right "to keep and bear Arms." "There is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny," wrote Judge Scullin, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush and is a retired Army colonel.

DC officials have requested a stay and plan to appeal. Open carry nuts are celebrating across Teabagistan.