Last week, I wrote that the case, Parker v. District of Columbia, which repealed D.C.’s gun ban, is likely headed to the Supreme Court. The district’s federal circuit court, which ruled in favor of Parker in March, denied D.C.’s request for review before the court’s full panel of judges. (The case was originally heard before a three-judge panel.) The court’s decision brought the case one step closer to a Supreme Court hearing. Parker marks the first time that a broad interpretation of the second amendment has been used to overturn a state’s gun regulations. If the case is upheld before the high court, state gun laws across the nation could be in jeopardy.
Today, in an Op-ed in The Hill, Robert Levy, the man who wielded the second amendment, illuminates an interesting twist in the potential fate of Parker. Levy writes:
Washington, D.C., Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) has the Second Amendment in his crosshairs. He faces a crucial choice over the next 90 days with major implications for residents in D.C. and across the country.
The crucial decision — should Fenty fight the case and risk a victory for Parker before the Supreme Court, which would have far-reaching implications for state gun laws across the nation, or change the District’s gun laws, avoid a Supreme court battle, and face the music at home? Mayor Fenty will likely not be making this decision on his own. Anti-gun groups across the nation will urge Fenty not to appeal to the Supreme Court, while his constituents will push for the opposite. D.C.’s mayor is left to decide whether he acts to serve the interests of his citizens or those of the nation. I don’t envy him.
