D.C. Continues Its Slow Retreat in its War on Guns

Yet another post-Heller victory for the Second Amendment out of the District of Columbia, as reported in the Washington Post:

The D.C. government released emergency regulations yesterday that greatly expand the models of handguns that District residents can own, a shift designed to stave off another lawsuit over its compliance with the Second Amendment.

The new regulations…will allow residents to legally obtain at least 1,000 additional types and models of handguns….In addition to permitting guns in the District that are legal in California, the city will also allow residents to apply to register handguns that are permissible in Massachusetts and Maryland.

D.C. was not acting out of just an increasingly sensible vision of what the Second Amendment, and the Second Amendment-affirming Heller case from last year, means. They are folding because they were threatened with a lawsuit, spearhearded by winning Heller counsel Alan Gura and including original Heller plaintiff Tracey Hanson.

I first wrote about that lawsuit, and a number of other encouraging post-Heller legal actions and results, back in May. My new(ish) book Gun Control on Trial has the full story of that historic case, and it was excerpted in Reason magazine.

Comments

[John]

Pro freedom small government forces have won very few battles against big government nanny staters. But, guns is a rare example. The nanny staters are in full retreat. Read the comments on the Post article. The nanny staters don't like it one bit. They are screaming like stuck pigs. God, it is good to see.

[hmm]

I honestly thing Obama has done more for the 2nd than any president in the last 100 years. His election combine with a general uncertainty (fear) has made a lot of people realize owning a means of defense is not necessarily a bad or dangerous thing. CCW permits are through the roof in Missouri and like most other states in the union you can't easily find most handguns, or defense (military style) riles without the price being outrageous. It's just pure conjecture, but I don't think the gun nut crowd can alone account for the demand being seen. It would be interesting to see the information on new ownership.

Fuck the ammunition hoarding, the serious lack of ammunition is getting annoying. I don't think people outside the gun community understand how much of a demand and thus a shortage of ammunition there is. Walmart rationing, shelves cleared as soon as they are stocked, dealers not being able to even get what they order within months. It's ugly as far as ammunition. The guns are still there, but they are scarce and expensive for what they are.

All of this can't be due to the "gunnuts" I'm sure they play an integral roll, but the size of the demand and shortage across the board has to encompass more than just the "gunnuts."

[monkey on juice]

"Fuck the ammunition hoarding, the serious lack of ammunition is getting annoying..."

Ammo is out there - I've recently seen cases of Wolf for a good bit less than what it was selling for at SAR East a few weeks ago. 308 is still pretty outrageous though...

Prices of guns seem to be coming down a bit too in the last few weeks. The real killer seems to be the lack of good surplus coming in.

[Frank]

These are all attacks on the second amendment. The fact there has to be "emergency regulations" released is an assault on the second amendment. If the constitution was really being adhered to; every law the says anything in regard's to firearms would not exist. Just think about it and then actually read the second amendment. No law that has the words gun, guns, firearm, firearm's or anything having to do with them are not constitutional. No matter hat the supreme court say's.