Ban on Guns in Washington D.C. declared unconstitutional
Gun control Washington DC
“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,” federal Judge Frederick J. Scullin stated in a decision that was made public over the past weekend. “Therefore, the court finds that the District of Columbia’s complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public is unconstitutional.”
This past weekend the federal Judge Frederick J Scullin decided to rule that the all-out gun ban in Washington DC is unconstitutional and violates the 2nd Amendment, the right to bare arms. This ruling marks the first time gun control ruling will most likely end up in the Supreme Court; the first in several years. The last time the Supreme Court made a ruling about gun control was in 2008, when they decided for the first time that Washington DC residents have the right to keep a firearm in their homes, as per the 2nd Amendment. Two years later, the Justices decided to expand on that ruling, stating that their decision will apply to all the states in the Union.Professor of constitutional law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Adam Winkler, tried to speculate on why the Supreme Court has tried to steer away from gun control issues during the 2013-14 term.
“It’s long been suspected that [swing Justice Anthony] Kennedy signed on to the earlier Second Amendment rulings by the court only after language was inserted allowing for reasonable restrictions on guns. But the question has lingered: How far would Kennedy allow gun control to go?
That question might well have been on the minds of the other justices when they voted not to hear a Second Amendment case this year. With four justices likely in favor of broad Second Amendment rights and another four likely opposed, the scope of the right to bear arms turns on Kennedy. His views may have been sufficiently unclear that neither side wanted to take a risk of a landmark decision coming out the wrong way.”
From the looks of it, the gun control issue will not be going away anytime soon for the Supreme Court. Because of Judge Scullin’s ruling, this provides an outstanding opportunity for the Supreme Court to address the public-carry issue once and for all. But given the judiciary’s notoriously slow moment, it is unlikely to reach the Justices anytime soon. It is predicted to be a point of emphasis during the fall of 2016 campaign.
Sourced from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-29/a-supreme-court-forecast-big-gun-rights-case-is-coming-soon
