District of Columbia Gun Ban

District of Columbia Gun Ban

District of Columbia Gun Ban

Introduction

In 1975, Washington D.C. enacted the Firearms Controlled Regulations Act which prohibited residents from owning handguns to deter violence. By passing this law, the District of Columbia violated the Second Amendment, which grants the rights of all citizens the ability to bear arms.
The Second Amendment states, “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a Free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed." This historical legislation established a means of individual protection under the Constitution "Supreme Law of the Land". Drafted by the architects of the United States, the second amendment is numerically prioritized as being the second most important law. In the District of Columbia, where legislation is decided upon, this amendment was violated. The District of Columbia Firearms Controlled Regulations Act of 1975 is the original restriction that banned handguns. Hence, citizens are not allowed to possess any handgun, “that was not registered by city police prior to September 24, 1976 and registered by February 5, 1977." This was put into place by the District of Columbia’s City Council in an effort to deter increasing violence within the city. The council was able to enact the law because it can be interpreted from the U.S. Constitution that the District of Columbia is not considered a “Free State”. In 2008, the United States District Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia found the 1975 Act to be a violation of the Second Amendment’s “prohibition on government infringement of the right of the people to keep and bear arms”. With ardent investigation, we will explore the decision-making that initially prompted the ban to be enacted and what makes it unconstitutional thirty-three years later.
One Question that will be examined is follows: Does the District of Columbia Gun Ban violate the Second Amendment of the United States...

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