Quote from Reloader on March 19, 2008, 6:35 pm

So, not being a lawyer myself, it appears that the Court is finished hearing from both sides, and is now ready to deliberate and render its opinion.

The scope of the questioning appears to be that D.C. cannot preclude one type of firearm without precluding them all, or else, making the possession and use of that firearm unlawful, even in the the event one is "lawfully" defending oneself.

I haven't read much of the law, but I wonder if D.C. law has a "duty to escape" when confronted in one's own home.  I know that Ohio does address this by stating that a person has no duty to escape if confronted in their own home.  It doesn't give free rein to just shooting someone who illegally enters the house, just that I don't have to leave.  According to my CCW instructor, who is a deputy sheriff, I am not allowed to shoot the intruder if he's trying to take my stereo or TV, but I can certainly point the gun at him.

I think the D.C. argument trying to lump machine guns in with handguns is illogical.  The majority of crimes committed with the use of a handgun in D.C. are by individuals who do not legally possess them, do not have them registered, and are not "licensed" to carry them as provided for in D.C. ordinance.  I don't see that the average citizen is going to need a machine gun to defend themselves in the event of an attack by a criminal.  I also find it illogical that they call the current firearms issued to the National Guard 'machine guns'.  As I recall from my training, the M-16 and the M-4 are select-fire to a 3-round burst, not continuous automatic fire.  That hardly fits the definition of "machine gun".

I hope the Court recognizes that the D.C. law is unreasonable, not only the trigger lock issue, but also the righs of D.C. citizens to defend themselves and to have the same rights as other citizens of the United States.  Oddly enough, the District is Cosntitutionally administered by Congress.  It's only in the later years that Congress has divested itself of this burden and delegated it to the Washington City Council.  I guess Teddy Kennedy got tired of having to debate on the Senate floor why his bodyguards can carry guns, but normal people in D.C. can't, even though normal people in the other 50 states can. 

Thanks for posting this.  I'll be keeping an eye on it and will also be writing to my Congressman and Senators.