D.C. Accused Of Backdoor Gun Control

Critics assert that the new concealed carry gun laws in the District of Columbia amount to nothing more than backdoor gun control. According to the new requirements, gun owners seeking permits must complete 18 hours of firearms training, but no instructors have been approved to teach the course.

The Washington Times notes, “The disparity is emblematic of the city’s reluctant scramble to comply with the July order that overturned the District’s ban on carrying handguns in public.”

Earlier this year, Judge Frederick Scullin ruled that D.C.’s ban on concealed carry is unconstitutional after several gun owners tried to obtain permits but were denied. Scullin ultimately determined that the ban was a violation of Second Amendment rights.

Scullin pointed to previous rulings pertaining to gun laws in cities such as Chicago, writing, “There is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia’s total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny.”

The ruling came six years after the Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision overruled D.C.’s total ban on owning a handgun.

In response to Scullin’s ruling, the D.C.’s Office of Attorney General requested a stay on the ruling, which the judge granted for 90 days, expiring on October 22.

Just hours before the stay was set to expire, the D.C. Police Department released the concealed carry applications on its website.

But officials with the department say that the solicitation for firearms instructors for the course was not issued until Monday, which will include 16 hours of classroom safety instruction and two hours of proficiency training.

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