Over at Reason, Jacob Sullum reports on Washington, D.C.’s continuing hostility toward gun owners and the Second Amendment:
Last month the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia had violated the Second Amendment by making armed self-defense in the home impractical and banning the most popular weapons used for that purpose. Last week the D.C. Council responded by unanimously approving a law that makes armed self-defense in the home impractical and bans the most popular weapons used for that purpose.
D.C.’s political leaders know they are inviting another Second Amendment lawsuit, but they are determined to defy the Supreme Court and the Constitution for as long as possible.
The new law “clarifies that no carry license is required inside the home” to move a gun from one room to another. It also “clarifies” the District’s firearm storage requirements, saying a gun may be unlocked and loaded “while it is being used to protect against a reasonably perceived threat of immediate harm to a person” in the home.
Much hinges on what counts as a “reasonably perceived threat.” If you’re awakened in the middle of the night by a crash, may you carry a loaded gun with you as you investigate? Evidently not. The Washington Post
reports that D.C.’s acting attorney general, Peter Nickles, “said residents could neither keep their guns loaded in anticipation of a problem nor search for an intruder on their property.” According to Nickles, if you see an armed criminal charging your home, or in the event of “an actual threat by somebody you believe is out to hurt you,” you’re allowed to get your gun, unlock it, and load it.
So much for home protection… More here.