Huge WIN in D.C. as “Good Reason” Concealed Carry Law is Struck Down
On Tuesday July 25th, the US District Court of Appeals for District of Columbia, in a 2-1 decision, issued a permanent injunction against using the “good reason” requirement for obtaining a concealed carry license, indicating that the right to carry is at the core of the 2nd Amendment. This reasonable and rational decision will result in applicants no longer needing to say why they seek a concealed handgun license in D.C. – a requirement that Judge Thomas B. Griffith also called “a total ban on most D.C. residents’ right to carry a gun in the face of ordinary self-defense needs…” since actually obtaining a permit was nearly impossible. In order to obtain one, a citizen had to prove one of two things – the first essentially amounts to already being in imminent danger. Judge Griffith described this requirement saying that the regulations limit licenses granted on the basis of personal safety to those who “allege, in writing, serious threats of death or serious bodily harm.” The other potential criteria for obtaining a license requires proof that the applicant needs to carry cash or valuables with them for their job. Living in a high-crime neighborhood was not considered a “good reason” to be granted a license under these regulations.
“At the Second Amendment’s core lies the right of responsible citizens to carry firearms for personal self-defense beyond the home, subject to longstanding restrictions,” said Judge Thomas B. Griffith, when writing the majority opinion. “These traditional limits include, for instance, licensing requirements, but not bans on carrying in urban areas like D.C. or bans on carrying absent a special need for self-defense.”
The lifting of the unconstitutional and unreasonable requirement will make it easier for DC residents to get their concealed handgun license and protect themselves in a very dangerous environment. The DC regime has restricted issuances of licenses since the 2008 Heller decision granted all citizens the right to defend themselves by keeping and bearing arms. This draconian restriction was a defiant act perpetuated to keep law abiding citizens form being able to protect themselves. Now let’s see what other ways anti gun civic leaders try to impose on their citizens to curtail obtaining licenses – let’s hope the injunction has teeth and punishes anyone who violates the law!
You can read more about this by visiting the Second Amendment Foundation blog, or by reading the full ruling by clicking HERE.
