The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against D.C. police over its ban on AR-15s and other weapons, calling the ban unconstitutional.
The lawsuit was filed Monday. It the lawsuit, DOJ attorneys criticized D.C. for banning most semiautomatic rifles and other certain firearms from being registered with the police department.
This leads to any possession of those weapons illegal. Those prohibited weapons include AK-47s and AR-15s.
If people own these firearms for lawful purposes, but the rifles are not registered, the could be charged to misdemeanor charges and fines, per attorneys for the Justice Department.
“Their decisions to deny certificates of registration for commonly possessed semiautomatic firearms runs afoul of binding Supreme Court precedent,” the lawsuit reads, “and therefore trample the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.”
The government cited District of Columbia v. Heller, a 2008 Supreme Court ruling, which said people may possess firearms in their homes for self-defense. This made a handgun ban in D.C. invalid.
After the Heller ruling, D.C. started a registry and training requirements for gun owners in the city.
This law now outlaws assault-style rifles because they can’t be registered in D.C.
Muriel E. Bowser, the Democratic mayor of D.C., said Monday night the District would “vigorously defend our right to make decisions that keep our city safe.”
“Gun violence destroys families, upends communities, and threatens our collective sense of safety. MPD has saved lives by taking illegal guns off our streets — efforts that have been praised by our federal partners,” Bowser said. “It is irresponsible to take any steps that would lead to more, and deadlier, guns in our communities, especially semi-automatic rifles like AR-15s.”
In August, the DOJ told federal prosecutors in D.C. not to charge people carrying rifles or shotguns, regardless of the evidence.
The lawsuit claims prohibiting semiautomatic firearms is “based on little more than cosmetics, appearance, or the ability to attach accessories.”
