Judge deals blow to DC gun rights activists

DC-NEWS 300X71By Steve Birr

A federal judge dealt a blow Monday to Second Amendment activists in Washington, D.C., in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the city’s rules on handgun concealed carry.

The Bellevue, Wash., based Second Amendment Foundation and city residents requested an injunction halting enforcement of aspects of the firearm law, which Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied Monday. Plaintiffs will take the ruling to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, reports ABC News.

Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, said the ruling was expected, but thanked Judge Kollar-Kotelly for issuing the ruling swiftly allowing for a quick appeal from the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs are specifically challenging portions of the law that say persons applying for a concealed carry license must show “proper reason” to be in possession of the gun.

The group also takes issue with the provision saying a person must display “good reason to fear injury to his or her person or property” in order to carry. The tight restrictions are meant only for individuals facing death threats, other external threats to safety or persons that have a job requiring protection for large sums of cash or other valuables, reports Fox 5.

In her ruling the judge argued the plaintiffs failed to reasonably prove their overall lawsuit would be effective, forcing her to deny an immediate injunction on current gun restrictions. Kollar-Kotelly reasoned similar lawsuits in New Jersey and Maryland have failed.

“We are pleased with the Court’s order, because it means the District will be able to continue enforcing its law requiring applicants for permits to carry concealed guns in public to state a ‘good reason’ for doing so,” District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine said in a statement Monday.

The court battle over the law stretches back to May when the plaintiffs succeeded in getting an initial injunction on parts of the law. That ruling was overturned in appeals court, which assigned Kollar-Kotelly to the case. Gottlieb said he’s optimistic about winning in the appeals process.

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