D.C. Chapter of Million Mom March Condemns Federal Court Decision to Overturn City's Handgun Ban

Prompt response of Mayor Fenty and Congresswoman Norton demonstrates

leadership, widespread support for current law

    WASHINGTON, March 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The District of
 Columbia Chapter of the Million Mom March (MMM DC) is strongly opposed to
 the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to overturn
 the city's gun laws. The court declared the District's longstanding handgun
 ban unconstitutional on Friday in a 2-1 decision in the case of Parker v.
 District of Columbia. Provisions governing the safe storage of firearms in
 the home were also overturned.
     The decision marks the first time in history that a federal appeals
 court has struck down a gun law on Second Amendment grounds. The majority
 opinion directly contradicted Supreme Court precedent in the 1939 case of
 U.S. v. Miller. There, the highest court in the land held that the
 "possession or use" of a weapon must bear "some reasonable relationship to
 the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia" to receive
 Second Amendment protection.
     "The court's decision deprives residents of the District the basic
 right of self determination in determining their own public safety laws,"
 said Million Mom March President Ladd Everitt. "This is 'judicial activism'
 at its absolute worst."
     Victim advocates focused on the human impact of the decision. "Because
 of illegal gun trafficking, it's easy now for kids to get their hands on
 guns in D.C.," said MMM DC Linking with Victims for Change Committee Chair
 B.C. Tara Montgomery. "Why would we possibly want to make it easier?
 Haven't we seen enough violence in this city already?"
     The DC chapter thanks Mayor Adrian Fenty and Congresswoman Eleanor
 Holmes Norton for their leadership and prompt action in opposing this
 decision. "It's like Congresswoman Norton said," stated Everitt. "We have
 fought off the National Rifle Association four times in the past to
 preserve our gun laws and we will win this fight, too-together."
     What started as one of the largest marches on Washington is now a
 national network of 75 Chapters around the U.S. that work locally, yet
 stand together, in their fight against gun violence and the devastation it
 causes. As part of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, the Million
 Mom March Chapters believe that all Americans have the right to be safe
 from gun violence in their homes, neighborhoods, schools, and places of
 work and worship.
 
 

SOURCE Million Mom March Chapters of Washington DC