FLASH: Firearms carry ban struck down in D.C. [Update: Judge stays ruling]

The ban on carrying of firearms by citizens in the nation’s capitol has been struck down by the United States District Court, District of Columbia, attorney Alan Gura, representing plaintiffs in Palmer vs. District of Columbia announced Saturday.

"In light of Heller, McDonald, and their progeny, there is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny," Senior Judge Frederick J. Scullin, Jr. wrote in a Memorandum-Decision Order signed Thursday and filed today.

"Having reviewed the parties' submissions and the applicable law ... the Court here by GRANTS Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and DENIES Defendants' cross-motion for summary judgment," Judge Scullin wrote, further ordering "that Defendants ... are permanently enjoined from enforcing D .C. Code ... to ban registration of handguns to be carried in public for self-defense by law-abiding citizens."

Read the full story at Examiner.com.

[Update July 29: Federal judge grants 90-day stay in D.C. gun case]

A federal judge on Tuesday granted a 90-day stay in a ruling that upended the District’s ban on carrying handguns in public.

The order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Frederick Scullin brings a temporary reprieve to D.C. officials, who were sent scurrying over the weekend to interpret the effects of the ruling that gutted the city’s restrictive gun laws.

An order issued Saturday by the judge struck down the city’s ban on the carrying of guns in public as unconstitutional. While still struggling to comprehend the scope of the order, D.C. police ordered officers to stop arresting people for carrying legally registered guns on city streets.

More than 3,000 guns have been registered in the city since a 2008 Supreme Court ruling overturned the city’s near-total ban on gun ownership. Gun owners since then have only been allowed to keep their firearms in their homes or businesses.

D.C. Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan asked Monday for a stay either pending a potential appeal of the case or for 180 days to give city lawmakers time to craft appropriate legislation to regulate the carrying of guns in public.

Plaintiffs in the case, who include three D.C. residents who own guns, agreed to a 90-day stay so the rulemaking could occur. The stay will be in effect until Oct. 22.

Judge Scullin wrote in the order that he granted the stay based on the agreement by the two parties that “an immediate 90-day stay is appropriate to provide the city council with an opportunity to enact appropriate legislation consistent with the Court’s.”