This week, the District of Columbia formally filed its petition for review, asking the Supreme Court to hear its appeal of Parker v. District of Columbia (now District of Columbia v. Heller).   

On March 9, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled, in Parker v. District of Columbia, that D.C.’s prohibition on the possession of a handgun, and keeping any gun assembled and loaded in the home (the condition required for self-defense), are unconstitutional. The court agreed that the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing right of individuals, not a so-called "right" of a state to maintain a select militia, or a privilege to have guns only when serving in a select militia. The court also ruled that individuals have a right to possess handguns. 

On July 16, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty announced the city would appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.   

As we reported in the July 20, Grassroots Alert, while it is too early to tell whether the Supreme Court will choose to hear the appeal, the District’s action sets the stage for a possible showdown over the meaning of the Second Amendment.  

Since enacting its gun ban, D.C. has ranked at or near the top of the list of most violent cities in America, often earning the distinction of being the nation’s murder capital.  Nonetheless, supporters of the law are continuing to parrot their ridiculous claim that, without this constitutionally offensive statute, things would have been much worse!   

The 30-year-old D.C. experiment has failed.  The D.C. gun ban doesn't make its citizens safer.  It does not prevent criminals from getting guns.  And it violates the U.S. Constitution.