Judgment Stayed For 90 Days

As pretty much expected, Judge Frederick Scullin, Jr. granted the District of Columbia a stay of his decision finding DC’s ban on the possession of firearms outside the home as unconstitutional. However, the District only got 90 days or until October 22nd.

The plaintiffs had indicated that they would agree to a 90-day stay if the City Council would enact remedial legislation within that time that was consistent with Constitutional standards.

The plaintiffs have until Monday, August 4th, to file a motion in opposition to the stay and the defendants then have until the following Monday to file their reply in support of a 180-day stay pending appeal.

In a footnote to the order, Judge Scullin asserted that he saw no need to clarify his decision noting that the injunction “clearly applied only to handguns and not any other type of deadly dangerous weapon.” DC’s Attorney General had tried to assert the original ruling was broader than “scope of the gun owners’ lawsuit and that it appeared to apply to restrictions on the carrying of all deadly weapons and not just handguns.”

I agree with Bitter that there is no reason the DC City Council cannot enact a workable carry law within 90 days. As she notes, the DC police proved that they could come with something on the fly. 

As to an appeal of the decision, my gut still tells me that DC will go for it.