Court Overturns DC Handgun Ban

Following today�s decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in the case of Parker, et al v. the District of Columbia overturning the District of Columbia�s handgun ban on Second Amendment grounds, the Violence Policy Center released the following statement:

Today�s split decision by the Court of Appeals to overturn the District of Columbia�s handgun ban is not only contrary to the overwhelming weight of legal authority, but will certainly increase gun death and injury among District residents and increase the risks faced by the law enforcement personnel who protect all residents and workers in Washington, DC.

If the ruling in this case is upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, it has the potential to lay the groundwork for literally every local, state, and federal gun law in America to be challenged: from the federal ban on gun possession by felons, to the ban on carrying guns onto airplanes, to the ban on the manufacture of fully automatic machine guns for civilian use.

While today�s decision is a dream come true for America�s gun lobby and gunmakers, it may mark the beginning of a long, national nightmare from which we will never recover as a nation.

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.