Registered rifle and shotgun owners may no longer face felony charges for carrying their weapons in Washington, DC due to concerns the district’s restrictive gun laws run afoul of Supreme Court rulings, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro explained Tuesday.
The policy shift, first reported by the Washington Post, comes after Pirro said she received guidance from the Justice Department and solicitor general determining that DC’s prohibitions on registered, but non-permitted, rifle and shotgun owners violate the Second Amendment.
The DC law “is clearly a violation of the Supreme Court’s holdings,” Pirro told the Washington Post, confirming the Trump administration’s memo.
The Supreme Court struck down DC’s ban on handgun ownership in the home for self-defense in the 2008 District of Columbia v. Heller case.
The high court further expanded gun rights in the 2022 NY State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen case, where a majority of justices determined that the Constitution protects the rights of gun owners to carry firearms in public for self-defense. In the Bruen case, the Supreme Court also found that gun laws must be “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
Pirro, a notoriously tough-on-crime former judge, was adamant that the new guidance would not impact her ability to prosecute gun crimes, and get illegal firearms off the streets of the nation’s capital.
“Nothing in this memo from the Department of Justice and the Office of Solicitor General precludes the United States Attorney’s Office from charging a felon with the possession of a firearm, which includes a rifle, shotgun, and attendant large capacity magazine pursuant to DC Code 22-4503,” she told the outlet.
“What it does preclude is a separate charge of possession of a registered rifle or shotgun,” she added.
DC’s stringent gun laws prohibit open carry and, in general, require individuals to obtain a concealed-carry permit – which are not issued for shotguns or rifles – in order to leave home with a firearm.
Unlawfully carrying a registered long gun in DC can result in a fine and imprisonment for up to five years.
In response to a request for comment from The Post, Pirro said: “Criminal culpability is not determined by the instruments people employ but by the intent and conduct of the actor.”
“Crimes are intentional acts and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent by my office regardless of what instruments of criminality are used,” her statement continued. “My job is to keep this city, its citizens, its businesses, and its visitors safe from harm and I will do that to the fullest extent of the law.”
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