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august 2019 ❘ 16 ❘ americanhunter.org
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D.C. “Shall-Issue”: Two Years of
Freedom in Our Nation’s Capital
I
n late July 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit issued
an opinion that effectively made D.C. issue
concealed-carry permits on a “shall-issue”
basis. Thanks to that ruling, and the District’s
reluctance to take the case to the Supreme
Court, thousands of law-abiding Americans
are now able to exercise their right to bear
arms in our nation’s capital.
The story of how concealed carry came
to D.C. starts, of course, with District of
Columbia v. Heller. After losing that case in
2008, D.C. amended its laws to only allow for
possession of a handgun in a resident’s home
or place of business. Since those changes left
in place a complete ban on carrying a gun
outside the home for personal protection,
D.C. again found itself in court defending an
unconstitutional law.
And, in 2014, when the District’s ban on
carry was held unconstitutional, D.C. changed
from a “no-issue” carry regime to “may-
issue.” While a permit to carry a firearm was
technically available, D.C.’s requirement that
an applicant show a “good reason” to carry a
firearm meant that the District could continue
to deny nearly all applications for a license.
“May-issue” regimes like the one
instituted in D.C. give unfettered discretion
to the government to decide who can and
cannot carry a firearm for self-defense.
These arbitrary and discriminatory laws are
completely incompatible with our Right to
Keep and Bear Arms. We’ve repeatedly
witnessed how these laws play out. The
wealthy elite and the politically connected
are the only Americans who can lawfully carry
a firearm under such a system.
In New York City, which has one of the
most restrictive “may-issue” carry laws in
the country, the licensing unit has been
repeatedly plagued with corruption scandals.
In the Big Apple, law-abiding Americans
must pay “fixers” to help them navigate the
byzantine process required to exercise their
right to bear arms. Beyond the over $400 in
licensing fees, applicants pay “gun-license
expeditors” thousands of dollars to simply
exercise their fundamental rights. This isn’t
a system that’s consistent with our Second
Amendment, and it isn’t necessary.
In 42 states, law-abiding Americans
are able to exercise their right to bear
arms without the arbitrariness and official
corruption that accompanies “may-issue”
carry laws. That’s why shortly after D.C.
amended its law to become “may-issue,” the
NRA filed a legal challenge in federal court.That case, Grace v. D.C., and its
companion case, Wrenn v. D.C., eventually
led to the 2017 ruling mentioned at the
beginning of this article. To avoid a repeat
of the Heller case in which D.C.’s attempt
to defend its unconstitutional law led
to a Supreme Court precedent clearly
recognizing the individual right to keep
and bear arms, D.C. chose not to appeal
the decision. Some D.C. officials even
admitted that their decision not to appeal
was influenced by the eight states that still
retain “may-issue” laws.
These states and D.C. seem to recognize that
there is no chance for “may-issue” to succeed
at the Supreme Court. They know that a system
that allows the government to discriminate in
choosing who can and cannot exercise their
constitutional rights is incompatible with our
system of ordered liberty.Thanks to that ruling, D.C. has now
issued thousands of permits to law-abiding
gun owners. In the first month under the
new “shall-issue” system alone, the District
issued almost as many permits as it had in
the prior nine months. And, the number of
permits issued each month has continued
to climb since.
Despite our victory in D.C., we still have
a long way to go. While it’s now possible
for law-abiding applicants to exercise their
right to carry in D.C., millions of Americans
live in the eight remaining states that give
governments complete discretion in issuing
carry permits.
The Supreme Court has already decided
to hear an NRA-backed challenge to a
New York City law that makes it all but
impossible for gun owners to travel with a
handgun. New York is now doing its best to
change the law, at the 11th hour, to avoid an
adverse decision from the Supreme Court.
Whether or not it is successful in avoiding
a ruling from our highest court in this case,
the NRA will continue to fight for the right of
all law-abiding Americans to carry the firearm
of their choosing to defend themselves, their
loved ones and their fellow citizens.THESE ARBITRARY AND
DISCRIMINATORY LAWS
ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH
OUR RIGHT TO KEEP AND
BEAR ARMS.By NRA-ILA Staff