Justice Department sues DC over block of semi-automatic guns

Source: BBC

2 hours ago


The Justice Department has sued Washington, DC, over its law banning residents from registering ownership of semi-automatic guns. Under DC law, all gun owners must register their weapons with local police. The nation's capital, though, bars the registration of AR-15 and other fast-loading guns, which effectively blocks people from legally owning them.

The "ban on some of America's most popular firearms is an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment," US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement, referring to the right to bear arms.

The lawsuit filed on Monday is the latest tangle between the Democrat-majority city and Republicans in the federal government over gun ownership. Washington's laws and budgets must be approved by Congress, and some of its efforts to enact gun control measures in the past were undone by Republican lawmakers.

At the same time, the Trump administration has sought to loosen federal restrictions on the weapons in the district, with the US Attorney for DC, former television commentator Jeanine Pirro, announcing this summer her office would no longer seek felony charges against people caught carrying rifles or shotguns. Traditionally, Republicans oppose putting limits on the right to bear arms.

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7v4pg2edno