D.C.’s new concealed carry law just as unconstitutional as the old one, according to federal judge

A federal judge has barred the District of Columbia from going forward with a concealed carry permitting ordinance intended to replace an earlier ordinance that had been declared unconstitutional as well.

Judge Frederick J. Scullin’s Monday order found the city’s new law unconstitutional on the grounds that it places too heavy a burden on would-be concealed carry holders to demonstrate to local police that they have a “good reason” for owning a handgun.

Scullin had found the city’s older ordinance unconstitutional because it banned residents from any means of obtaining concealed carry permits.

A handful of applicants under the new ordinance filed a lawsuit against the city after discovering how onerous — to the point of exclusion — the new burden of proof, under the new ordinance, actually is. Not long after that suit had been filed, the city dropped its appeal of the earlier ruling — an appeal to reinstitute the old ordinance’s outright ban on handguns.

In this week’s ruling, Scullin told the city to go back to the drawing board to come up with a way for law-abiding citizens to obtain the handguns covered by the ordinance.

“[F]or all intents and purposes, this requirement makes it impossible for the overwhelming majority of law-abiding citizens to obtain licenses to carry handguns in public for self-defense, thereby depriving them of their Second Amendment right to bear arms,” Scullin stated.

Scullin has ordered a July 7 meeting between both sides in the case to come up with an “expedited schedule” to put the matter to rest. City attorneys have hinted that they may appeal Scullin’s preliminary injunction, which forbids the city from invoking the “good reason” provision in its current ordinance as it processes concealed carry permit applications.

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