Excerpt
(Excerpted from Supreme Court Debates, May 2008)
In 1976, the District of Columbia City Council passed one of the Nation’s toughest gun control laws, which included a ban on all handguns except for those previously registered in the city or in the possession of active or retired law enforcement personnel.
Although the effectiveness of the law has been called into question — violent crime rates in the District have fluctuated and remain high, and legal handguns have been readily available in nearby States such as Virginia — the ban remained in effect for decades without legal challenge and with l…
In This Issue
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Foreword
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The Gun Control Debate
Overview of Key Arguments
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Bush Administration Position
U.S. Brief Filed in Support of Neither Party
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Lower Court Holding
Decision of the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
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Before the Court
The Justices Weigh in During Oral Arguments
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Opinion of the Court
The District of Columbia’s Ban on Handguns for Private Use Violates the Second Amendment
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Pro & Con
Is the District of Columbia’s Ban on Handguns Constitutional?
Pro
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National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Network to End Domestic Violence Fund, District of Columbia Coalition Against Domestic Violence, et al.
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American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, et al.
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Erwin Chemerinsky and Adam Winkler
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District of Columbia and Adrian M. Fenty
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New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico
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Representatives Robert A. Brady (D-PA), John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI), Danny K. Davis (D-IL), et al.
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City of Chicago and the Board of Education of the City of Chicago
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Dennis E. Baron, Ph.D., Richard W. Bailey, Ph.D., and Jeffrey P. Kaplan, Ph.D.
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James Alan Fox and David McDowall
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Janet Reno, Nicholas Katzenbach, Eric H. Holder, Jr., Jamie S. Gorelick, et al.
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Jack N. Rakove, Saul Cornell, David T. Konig, William J. Novak, Lois G. Schwoerer, et al.
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Violence Policy Center, William T. Bratton, Timothy J. Dolan, and R. Gil Kerlikowske
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American Academy of Pediatrics, Society for Adolescent Medicine, Children’s Defense Fund, Women Against Gun Violence, and Youth Alive!
Con
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The Claremont Institute, Frederick Bieber, David Bordua, Edwin Cassem, et al.
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Edwin Meese III and William P. Barr, et al.
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Grass Roots of South Carolina, Inc.
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Pink Pistols and Gays and Lesbians for Individual Liberty
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Dick Anthony Heller
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Texas, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, et al.
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Vice President Richard B. Cheney, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX-R), et al.
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Southeastern Legal Foundation, Inc., Second Amendment Sisters, Inc., Women Against Gun Control, et al.
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Alaska Outdoor Council, Alaska Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund, Sitka Sportsman’s Association, Juneau Rifle and Pistol Club, et al.
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Gun Owners of America, Inc.; Gun Owners Foundation; Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.; Virginia Citizens Defense League, et al.
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Major General John D. Altenburg, Jr.; Lieutenant General Charles E. Dominy; Lieutenant General Tom Fields; Lieutenant General Jay M. Garner; et al.
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Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, Inc.
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The Cato Institute and Joyce Lee Malcolm
