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Federal judge upholds gun limits in DC after Supreme Court ruling

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A federal judge ruled Friday that firearms regulations in Washington DC, including a ban on assault weapons and a prohibition on large capacity ammunition feeding devices, do not violate the US Second Amendment. The ruling by Judge Ricardo M. Urbina of the US District Court for the District of Columbia also upholds new registration rules that require a gun owner to submit fingerprints, photographs, and pay for a ballistics test. In upholding the regulations, Urbina cited the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller which struck down an outright ban on handgun ownership in Washington DC nonetheless permitted the regulation of firearms. Urbina wrote:Because the Council provided ample evidence of the ways in which the registration requirements will effectuate the goal of promoting public safety, and because public safety is a quintessential matter of public regulation, the court concludes that there is at least a substantial nexus between the registration requirements and the important governmental interest underlying those requirements. As a result, the court denies the plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and grants the defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment on Count One of the second amended complaint.Urbina said the ban on assault weapons and large-capacity ammunition feeding devices is constitutional because such devices "fall outside the scope of the core second amendment right." Stephen P. Halbrook, attorney for lead plaintiff Dick Heller, said that an appeal is likely. The Supreme Court recently heard arguments in McDonald v. City of Chicago to determine whether the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to the states, and not just the District of Columbia.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on March 27, 2010 (boomark / email).