D.C.'s Gun Laws Contradict Federal Law

Baosheng Guo

Along with massive shootings constantly occurring, such as the Taxes Elementary school shooting, and the Nashville Christian school shooting, some Americans found Washington, D.C.'s gun laws are one of the strictest laws in the United States. D.C.’s gun laws are so strict that they lead to multiple lawsuits, and the laws be considered challenged on constitutional rights (Second Amendment). Although Washington D.C. is not a state, in terms of contradicting the relationship between local law and Federal law, D.C.'s Gun Laws are significant instances of the conflict of State and Federal Law. 

On June 29, 1976, The Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 was passed by the District of Columbia city council. The law banned residents from owning handguns, automatic firearms, or high-capacity semi-automatic firearms, and all unregistered firearms. The law also required firearms kept in the home to be unloaded, disassembled, or bound by a trigger lock or similar device, which was considered challenging the Second Amendment because it is an inalienable right that self-defense within the home using the gun.    

Dick Anthony Heller, a licensed special police officer for the D.C. He carried a gun in federal office buildings for his job but was not allowed to have one in his home. As a result, Heller filed a lawsuit against D.C. for its laws violating the Constitution of the U.S.  On June 26, 2008, in the historic case of D.C. v. Heller, the Supreme Court determined that the ban and trigger lock provisions violate the Second Amendment (Greenhouse, 2008). 

However, the story does not end and the Challenge between D.C. and Federal continues. Although D.C.’s Council enacted a set of rules regulating the possession of handguns and long guns in citizens' homes according to the Heller ruling, gun owners and other persons continue to file lawsuits against D.C. gun laws. On September 18, 2015, a federal appeals court struck down some parts of the D.C. gun registration law as unconstitutional. In addition, regarding firearms registration, background checks, age limits, and possession of ammunition, the D.C. gun laws are still considered to contradict the Second Amendment and face mass legal challenges.   

The Second Amendment defends the right to keep and bear arms in the U.S.  According to Article Six of the Constitution, "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding" ("Constitution of the United States"), the Second Amendment must be implemented by each state including Washington D.C. Also, according to the 14th Amendment, if the local law prohibits or extremely restricted the rights of the Second Amendment, the local law obviously violates the Constitution of the U.S. The D.C. gun laws are considered by most conservative people extremely restricted the rights to keep and bear arms, so there are severe conflicts between D.C. laws and Federal Law.  

On the contrary, from the perspective of progressive people, the Second Amendment is very general, vague, and non-specific.  It doesn't have the details of keeping and bearing firearms and only 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” ("Constitution of the United States"). Therefore, using the explain space of the Second Amendment to seriously regulate how people can keep and bear arms is not equal to eliminating the right to bear arms.  For instance, the D.C. gun laws just specifically regulate the detail of keeping and bearing arms instead of prohibiting the right to bear arms. Thus, the D.C. gun law essentially does not violate the Second Amendment.     

Basically, I agree with the opinion of progressive people. Gun control is not gun prohibition, and the U.S. Legal system must change along with the development of society. The social situation in contemporary times has significantly changed compared to the period of the Founding father. The U.S. already is a developed industrial country instead of an agricultural country. Also, massive shootings already become a remarkable disaster in the U.S. Because of abusing the right to bear guns, many people died from guns. According to credible statistics, in 2021, the number of firearm deaths in the US increased by 8% or 3,608 deaths from 2020 to a total of 48,830 ("US Gun Deaths"). The cry and strong voice of gun control has already become the primary political pursuit of most American.   

Except for the U.S., most democracies implement restricted gun control laws. If American want to give up this negative American exceptionalism and deal with the gun catastrophe, the U.S. should be implementing the laws of gun control in all states.  It’s not easy to change the Second Amendment, but some states should try this legal experiment first. Then, along with the majority of states changing the laws, the Federal law has to change finally. Such as the minimum wage started in the states, and it extended to the federal level finally. The other instance is marijuana, it’s still illegal at a federal level according to the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, but more and more states have gradually made it legal or partially legal. Based on current trends, the legalization of marijuana like E.U. will be realized swiftly in the U.S.  

Therefore, states have always been the laboratory of new laws, and the new laws could be the beginning of a trend that could change federal laws. The people don’t need to surprise by the conflicts between state law (local law) and federal laws, and these conflicts and contradictions indicate how could the whole legal system of the U.S. deal with the dynamic development of society at home and abroad. 

Works Cited 

Greenhouse, L. (2008, June 27). Justices, ruling 5-4, endorse personal right to own gun. The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/27/washington/27scotus.html 

"The Constitution of the United States." National Archives, 17 June 2022, www.archives.gov/founding-docs/constitution. 

"US Gun Deaths." USAFacts, usafacts.org/data/topics/security-safety/crime-and-justice/firearms/firearm-deaths/.