Judge halts enforcement of a portion of DC’s strict gun law

A federal judge in Washington halted enforcement of a portion of the city’s strict gun law Tuesday in a ruling that conflicts with another judge’s assessment of the law earlier this year and sets up two competing views for a higher court.

(FOX)- U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Leon ruled Tuesday that a section of the city’s law that requires people who want to carry a gun in public to show a “good reason to fear injury” or another “proper reason” to carry the weapon “likely places an unconstitutional burden” on citizens’ right to bear arms.

Leon’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction stands in contrast to a ruling by his colleague, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, who sided with the city in a separate dispute earlier this year and declined to issue a preliminary injunction. Kollar-Kotelly said that opponents had not shown that their lawsuit was likely to be successful, leading her to deny the request for a preliminary injunction. She also noted that appeals courts in other parts of the country had approved of laws in New York, New Jersey and Maryland that are similar to the District of Columbia’s.

Kollar-Kotelly was nominated by a Democrat, President Bill Clinton, and Leon by a Republican, President George W. Bush.

D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine, whose office has been defending the law, said his office believes the city’s law is constitutional and will ask Leon to put his ruling on hold while the city appeals.

“We believe that the District’s gun laws are reasonable and necessary to ensure public safety in a dense urban area,” he said in a statement.

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