Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975

The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 was passed by the District of Columbia city council on June 29, 1976,^[1][2] and went into effect September 24, 1976.^[3] The law banned residents from owning handguns, automatic firearms, or 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";^[4] this was deemed to be a prohibition on the use of firearms for self-defense in the home.^[5] 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 provisions violate the Second Amendment.

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.^[6][7][8][9] On March 9, 2007, portions of the law were declared unconstitutional by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 ruling in the case District of Columbia v. Heller.^[10] After the District's application for a rehearing en banc was denied, it 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.^[11] 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 restriction.^[12]

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

External links

• Text of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975

References

1. "Gun Control Bill In Washington, D.C.", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 30, 1976, p. 2D
2. . Congressman Tom Davis. Archived from the original on 2007-02-28. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
3. "Washington Gets Tough Gun Law", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 1976, p. 16A
4. "The Case For Reforming The District of Columbia's Gun Laws". National Rifle Association.
5. Senior Circuit Judge Silberman (2007-03-09). "Case No. 04-7041, Parker v. D.C." (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. p. 58. Retrieved 2008-02-12. 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.
6. Kates, Jr. Don B. (1983). "Handgun Prohibition and the Original Meaning of the Second Amendment". Michigan Law Review. 204.
7. Reynolds, Glenn Harlan (1995). "A Critical Guide to the Second Amendment". Tennessee Law Review. 461.
8. Hirschman, Albert O. (1991). The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy.
9. Polsby, Daniel P. (March 1994). "The False Promise of Gun Control". Atlantic Monthly.
10. Miller, Bill and Robert Barnes (2007-03-09). "Appeals Court Guts D.C. Gun Ban". The Washington Post.
11. "United States: Gun Ownership and the Supreme Court". Library of Congress. Retrieved 7 December 2015.^{[dead link]}
12. Nakamura, David (2008-06-26). . The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-06-26.