D.C. Circuit Strikes Down D.C. Concealed-Carry Law

A D.C. Circuit panel today issued an opinion permanently enjoining the enforcement of D.C.’s law that required an applicant for a concealed-carry permit to show that he or she has a “good reason” for needing a permit.

To get a concealed-carry permit under D.C. law, a person must have a “good reason to fear injury to his or her person or property or . . . [another] proper reason for carrying a pistol.” To make such a demonstration, the applicant must show “a special need for self-protection distinguishable from the general community as supported by evidence of specific threats or previous attacks that demonstrate a special danger to the applicant’s life” or establish some other special need for carrying a pistol, such as a job that requires carrying cash or other valuable objects.

Relying on the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller case, the D.C. Circuit panel concluded that “the individual right to carry common firearms beyond the home for self-defense — even in densely populated areas, even for those lacking special self-defense needs — falls within the core of the Second Amendment’s protections.” In other words, “the law-abiding citizen’s right to bear common arms must enable the typical citizen to carry a gun.” The court then determined that the D.C. concealed-carry law, by requiring applicants to show a “good reason” for carrying, effectively banned normal citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights and so was unconstitutional.

The D.C. government will likely seek an en banc rehearing of the case in front of the full D.C. Circuit.

Senate Republican Policy

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The Senate Republican Policy Committee helps shape policy and provides legislative analysis.

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