D.C. government won’t appeal concealed-carry rights case to the Supreme Court

Handguns are displayed at ABQ Guns in Albuquerque, N.M., on Sept. 1, 2016. (Sergio Flores/Bloomberg)

Kate Ryan and Nick Ianelli of WTOP report that the District will not ask the Supreme Court to revive its restrictions on gun carrying.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit had held, by a 2-1 vote, that the Second Amendment secures the right of law-abiding adults to carry guns in public, though potentially subject to various regulations (including restrictions on carrying them into government buildings and similar locations) and nondiscretionary licensing requirements. The D.C. Circuit then declined to rehear the case before the entire court.

The District’s rules, which basically made such licenses unavailable, were thus struck down; the D.C. Circuit’s decision agreed with the 7th Circuit’s and Illinois Supreme Court’s decisions striking down Illinois’ restrictions on concealed carry but disagreed with other decisions upholding New York, New Jersey and Maryland gun-carry restrictions (and possibly the decision upholding the California and Hawaii restrictions, though that decision was more complicated). Washington had the opportunity to ask the Supreme Court to hear the case, and I expect the court would have done so, but District officials, worried about a loss at the Court, decided to abide by the panel decision.

“After weighing the consequences of an adverse decision on our city and indeed across the country, including neighboring jurisdictions,” [D.C. Attorney General Karl] Racine said he’d decided against a challenge in the Supreme Court. Like the District, Maryland has a ”good reason” requirement for applicants seeking a license to carry a firearm.

Originally Found On: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/10/05/d-c-government-wont-appeal-concealed-carry-rights-case-to-the-supreme-court/