Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975

The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 was passed by the District of Columbia city council on June 26, 1976. [cite web |url=http://tomdavis.house.gov/cgi-data/news/files/191.shtml |title=Government Reform to Review D.C. s Handgun Ban |publisher=Congressman Tom Davis] On June 26, 2008, in the historic case of "District of Columbia v. Heller", the Supreme Court of the United States determined that the ban and trigger lock provision violate the Second Amendment. The law banned residents from owning handguns, automatic firearms, and high-capacity semi-automatic firearms, as well as prohibited possession of unregistered firearms. Exceptions to the ban were allowed for police officers and guns registered before 1976. The law also required firearms kept in the home to be "unloaded, disassembled, or bound by a trigger lock or similar device" [cite web |url=http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=72 |title=The Case For Reforming The District of Columbia's Gun Laws |publisher=National Rifle Association] , thus amounting to a prohibition on the use of firearms for self-defense in the home.cite web
url= http://pacer.cadc.uscourts.gov/docs/common/opinions/200703/04-7041a.pdf
title= Case No. 04-7041, Parker v. D.C.
accessdate= 2008-02-12
author= Senior Circuit Judge Silberman
authorlink=
coauthors=
date= 2007-03-09
format= pdf
publisher= United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
pages= 58
quote= Section 7-2507.02, like the bar on carrying a pistol within the home, amounts to a complete prohibition on the lawful use of handguns for self-defense.]

Constitutionality

Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are considered by many to be the strictest in the United States, and have been challenged as infringing on constitutional rights protected by the United States Constitution's Second Amendment. [cite journal |author=Kates, Jr. Don B. |title=Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment |journal=Michigan Law Review |volume=204 |year=1983] [cite journal |author=Reynolds, Glenn Harlan |title=A Critical Guide to the Second Amendment |journal=Tennessee Law Review |volume=461 |year=1995] [cite book |author=Hirschman, Albert O. |title=The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy |year=1991] [cite news |author=Polsby, Daniel P. |title=The False Promise of Gun Control |publisher=Atlantic Monthly |date=March 1994] On March 9, 2007, portions of the law were declared unconstitutional by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 ruling in the case District of Columbia v. Heller. [cite news |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/09/AR2007030901090.html |title=Appeals Court Guts D.C. Gun Ban |author=Miller, Bill and Robert Barnes |date=2007-03-09 |publisher=The Washington Post] The District subsequently applied for a rehearing en banc, which was denied, and appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. On June 26, 2008, the Court determined that the ban and trigger lock provision violate the Second Amendment. [cite news | first=Mark | last=Sherman | coauthors= | title=Supreme Court Says Americans Have Right to Guns | date=2008-06-26 | publisher= | url =http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/y2008/06/26/AR2008062600615.html | work =The Washington Post | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-26 | language = ] However, the ruling does not prohibit all forms of gun control; laws requiring firearm registration remain in place as does the city's assault weapon ban. [cite news | first=David | last=Nakamura | coauthors= | title=D.C. Attorney General: All Guns Must Be Registered | date=2008-06-26 | publisher= | url =http://blog.washingtonpost.com/dc/2008/06/dc_attorney_general_all_guns_m.html | work =The Washington Post | pages = | accessdate = 2008-06-26 | language = ]

See also

* Crime in Washington, D.C.
* District of Columbia home rule
* "District of Columbia v. Heller"
* Gun politics in the United States
* Warren v. District of Columbia

References