D.C. Seeks to Fight for Its 30-Year-Old Gun Ban in the High Court

This past March, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Parker v. District of Columbia, which dissolved the strictest gun regulations on the books of any state or district in the nation—the district's gun ban—using a broad interpretation of the Second Amendment, marking the first time this interpretation has been used to overturn state gun regs.

When the federal appeals court, just a few months later, denied Washington's request for the case to be heard before the full-judge panel (the case was originally heard before a three-judge panel), all anyone could talk about was how the case was headed to the nation's highest court. At Mother Jones, we wondered what D.C.'s Mayor, Adrian Fenty, would do. He could appeal to the Supreme Court and risk a victory for Parker that would have far-reaching implications for state gun laws across the nation or he could accept the ruling and face the music at home. Well, Fenty has made his decision. Today, a news release from the Mayor's office announced that the District of Columbia will petition the Supreme Court to review the decision made by its appeals court.

For more information on Parker and the man behind the case, see this Mother Jones interview with Cato Institute senior fellow and constitutional lawyer Dr. Robert Levy.