Press Releases

Ruling Strikes Down District of Columbia Gun Ban as Unconstitutional

Washington, D.C. – Third District Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC), a strong defender of individuals’ Second Amendment rights, applauded the Supreme Court’s opinion issued today in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller.  In its 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a District of Columbia (D.C.) gun ban that essentially prohibited armed self-defense in one’s own home.

“For more than 30 years, law-abiding residents of the District have been deprived their rights – as Americans – to keep an assembled rifle or shotgun in their homes, effectively outlawing the use of firearms for lawful self-defense,” Congressman Jones said. “The Supreme Court’s decision today is not only a victory for D.C. residents who have been denied their Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, but a victory for the U.S. Constitution and law-abiding citizens throughout America.”

“The District of Columbia consistently has one of the highest murder rates in the nation,” Jones said.  “Not only has the District’s gun ban been unconstitutional, but it has clearly been a policy failure as well.  The Supreme Court’s ruling today sets a powerful precedent that I hope will be used by judges throughout America to safeguard individual citizens’ Second Amendment rights.”

In January of this year, Congressman Jones had joined Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and additional members of Congress in signing an amicus curiae brief in the District of Columbia v. Heller case. The brief supported the affirmation of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court upholding the right of individual citizens to keep and bear arms.