D.C. Petition for Rehearing of Gun Ban Case Denied

PR Newswire reports:

Today, in a 6-4 vote, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a motion by the D.C. government to reconsider the court's blockbuster opinion in Parker v. District of Columbia. On March 9, the court held in Parker that "the Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep and bear arms," striking down a 31-year old ban on guns in the nation's capital. Moreover, the court continued, activities protected by the Amendment "are not limited to militia
service, nor is an individual's enjoyment of the right contingent upon his or her continued or intermittent enrollment in the militia."

That means the D.C. handgun ban is unconstitutional and, unless the Supreme Court overturns the Parker decision, the ban will have to be lifted. Most likely, the D.C. government will now ask the Supreme Court to review the appellate court decision. If so, the high court could decide this summer whether to take the case.

No word yet from Mayor Bloomberg.