Federal Judge James Boasberg found that the District of Columbia âhave sought to combat gun violence and promote public safety,â in his decision Thursday in Heller II. (Photo credit: Diego M. Radzinschi /National Law Journal)
In an answer to the case known as Heller II, a federal judge dismissed the challenges to the District of Columbiaâs harsh gun registration laws on May 15.
In this most recent installment in the debate over the interpretation of the Second Amendment in the nationâs capital, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg concluded that the Districtâs strict set of laws is valid and in line with the Constitution.
âThe people of this city, acting through their elected representatives, have sought to combat gun violence and promote public safety,â Boasberg wrote in his decision. âThe Court finds that they have done so in a constitutionally permissible manner.â
The case challenged the Firearms Control Amendment Act of 2008, which was signed into law the same year the Supreme Court ruled on the landmark Second Amendment case, D.C. vs Heller, that ended the Districtâs 32-year de facto ban on handguns.
Four plaintiffs, including Dick Heller, the plaintiff in the Heller case, challenged the D.C. law, citing denials in which they attempted to register commonly owned firearms for practical purposes.
In March 2009, Heller attempted to register a Bushmaster XM-15 .223 rifle that he intended to use for competitive shooting and a Baby Eagle UZI, 9mm semi-automatic pistol, for home defense, but both requests were denied.
Dick Heller has been battling the District of Columbiaâs strict gun laws for years. (Photo credit: AP)
The Metro Police refused Hellerâs applications stating that the law defined both guns as assault weapons, and are therefore banned.
The police also denied a third application for a SIG Sauer pistol because the law defined the gunâs 15-round magazine as a âlarge capacity ammunition feeding device,â which is un-registrable in D.C.
The plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in 2009 after Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the Firearms Control Amendment Act of 2008 into law.
Training-wise, the act requires that applicants pass a vision test similar to one given for a driverâs license, complete a firearms training course from a certified instructor â although no public firing range exists in D.C. â and pass a written test.
The act also requires applicants be fingerprinted and photographed, submit a mental health form, and submit ballistics data on all registered pistols. Additionally, all District gun owners must re-registered every three years, and undergo a background check every six years.
The act prohibits what it defines as âassault weapons,â any semi-automatic handgun not currently on Californiaâs approved roster, and permits residents to buy one handgun a month. There are no exemptions for inherited firearms or collectorâs items.
Possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by one year in prison and a $1,000 fine, and for a second offense, five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
The lawsuit sought to bring relief from the arduous process, arguing that the âDistrictâs onerous firearms registration, expiration, and re-registration requirements, both singly and as a whole, infringe on the constitutional right of the people, including plaintiffs, to keep and bear arms and unduly burden exercise of their Second Amendment rights.â
âThe more you pile on these requirements, the more work and more trouble it is. Some people arenât going to go through this,â said Stephen P. Halbrook, the noted attorney who represented Heller.
In his 62-page decision, Boasberg systematically stood by each requirement listed in the act. He dismissed each of them with the exception of the challenge to D.C.âs vision requirement, which he dismissed on jurisdictional grounds.
Boasberg, who was appointed by President Obama in 2011 and best known for denying public access to photos of deceased Osama Bin Laden, dismissed challenges made by the plaintiffs over the Districtâs choice of using experts to supply data who were not trained statisticians.
âThere is no per se rule, however, requiring the government to confine its justifications to objective evidence or empirical studies,â wrote Boasberg. âSo long as the District provides âmeaningful evidenceâ that satisfies intermediate scrutiny, it will have met its burden under the law.â
Tweet by the mayor of Washington, D.C.
The current mayor of Washington, D.C., Vincent Gray, called the decision an âimportant win for public safety.â
âI appreciate the courtâs affirmation of our sensible gun control laws and urge other jurisdictions to follow our lead,â Gray said.
Boasbergâs ruling was taken in stride by gun rights groups.
âWhile disappointed with the lower courtâs flawed ruling, the NRA is committed to pursuing every available option to ensure the rights of law-abiding Americans are protected â regardless of where they live,â said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Associationâs lobbying arm, in a statement to Guns.com.
âThis is a great disappointment to the Districtâs law-abiding gun owners,â Halbrook told Guns.com Friday. âThe court of appeals sent this case back to the district court to see if there is support for D.C.âs claim that it needs to register guns so police can check if a gun may be present at a crime scene,â he explained.
âIt turns out that they donât even check, obviously because criminals donât register guns. Yet the district court upholds the registration system anyway,â said Halbrook.
Meanwhile Halbrook intends to appeal the courtâs decision, meaning that while this battle may be lost, the war over the Second Amendment in the nationâs capital is far from over.
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DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG
DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG