D.C. Concealed Carry Policy “Unconstitutional Burden”
Judge blocks district from requiring "good reason" to obtain license
A federal judge has stopped Washington, D.C., from enforcing a requirement that concealed carry applicants show “good reason” to obtain a license.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon’s preliminary injunction on Tuesday is the latest development in a court fight that began several years ago. The case, Palmer v. District of Columbia, was filed in 2014, challenging the District’s law which required gun owners to demonstrate a “good” or “proper” reason to obtain a concealed carry permit.
“Because the right to bear arms includes the right to carry firearms for self-defense both in and outside the home, I find that the District’s ‘good reason’ requirement likely places an unconstitutional burden on this right,” Leon wrote in a memorandum opinion on Tuesday.
[Related: Rand Paul Takes Aim at D.C. Gun Laws]
Leon granted a preliminary injunction that “enjoins the District of Columbia from denying concealed carry licenses to applicants to meet all eligibility requirements other than the ‘good reason’ requirement.”
Some members of Congress have also opposed the district’s concealed carry law.
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