…let’s talk about the DC gun ban, shall we? Pictured here is Metroblogging-founder Sean Bonner’s H&K .40 compact. He would be legally prohibited from keeping this firearm, even in its unloaded state, if he lived in DC, instead of on the mean streets of Silver Lake. The Post today explores the success/failure of the gun ban’s 31 years on the books. While it makes no conclusion, it does bring out the salient arguments from both sides:
- Gun bans won’t stop criminals from carrying (an obvious statement coming from criminal/mayor/councilman Marion Barry)
- A Gun ban in the District won’t affect Maryland and Virginia, where guns are largely freely available
- Gun bans may only prevent home accidents
- The ban didn’t stop rampant gun violence inside the District in the 80s and 90s when DC was the murder capital of the US
So, with word coming today from the Supreme Court as to whether or not they’ll rule on the current challenge, what do you make of a gun ban in the District? Good policy? Bad policy? Constitutional or not?
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
