Appeals court upholds DC gun restrictions

[Hazcat]

By BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The District of Columbia can bar residents from owning assault weapons and require them to register their handguns without violating the Second Amendment, but the district must explain further why its numerous handgun registration requirements are necessary, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday.

A divided three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals did not strike down any of the district's gun laws, which were approved after a landmark 2008 Supreme Court decision that struck down a 32-year-old handgun ban in the nation's capital.

The court held that the district's ban on assault weapons and magazines containing more than 10 rounds of ammunition were constitutional. It also held that requiring registration of handguns is a deeply rooted practice that does not violate the Second Amendment.

--SNIP

"The basic requirement to register a handgun is longstanding in American law, accepted for a century in diverse states and cities and now applicable to more than one fourth of the nation by population," the judges wrote.

However, the court said the district must show "an important or substantial government interest" in maintaining what the court deemed the district's "novel" registration requirements.

Those include: banning residents from registering more than one firearm per month; requiring gun owners to undergo vision tests, fingerprinting and background checks; and requiring registration of shotguns and rifles.

The court sent those requirements back to a lower court to give the parties a chance to argue the constitutional issues they raise.

--SNIP--

more at link

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DISTRICT_GUNS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-10-04-12-37-30

[MikeBjerum]

Thanks Haz!

I've seen a couple items on this overnight, and have read much so far.  However, my brain is in overload mode right now, so I must slow down, do some money making work, and let this simmer.  My problem is that it does not appear to be a complete reversal, but allowances for certain items - Is that true?

This thread could get interesting as more of us read and research.

[Hazcat]

It sounds sorta like California laws to me.  Only 'approved' guns, number of bullet limit (cause we all know that the 11th + bullets kill more often than bullets 1 - 10 ) and an AW (however they are defined) ban.

[MikeBjerum]

That is my first read impression, and it is a lose lose situation for us 

It will be labeled as common sense safety, and we will be painted as whack jobs.  They will call for more compromise which is code word for abandon your core beliefs.

[tombogan03884]

We knew that the Heller decision would lead to an eternity of court cases hammering out the details.
This will probably be passed on to SCOTUS. All courts are politically influenced and since that particular area has been consistently hostile to gun rights the decision is really no surprise.

[Sponsor]

[tt11758]

We knew that the Heller decision would lead to an eternity of court cases hammering out the details.
This will probably be passed on to SCOTUS. All courts are politically influenced and since that particular area has been consistently hostile to gun rights the decision is really no surprise.

My thoughts exactly.