Federal Appeals Court Upholds ‘Unconstitutional’ Concealed Carry Permit Requirement

On Friday, a federal appeals court ruled that Washington, D.C., may continue requiring concealed carry applicants to show “good reason,” even though U.S. District Judge Richard Leon recently ruled the requirement is likely “unconstitutional.”

According to the Associated Press, “The federal appeals court for the District temporarily put Leon’s ruling on hold until it can hear further argument.” This allows D.C. to “temporarily” continue enforcing its requirement that would-be concealed carriers show “good reason to fear injury” as justification for applying for a permit.

On May 17, Breitbart News reported that Judge Leon ruled against the “good reason” requirement in GRACE et al v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA et al. He ruled that the Second Amendment protects rights that intrinsically contain all the necessary “reason” for carrying a gun.

Leon’s Grace opinion references the Supreme Court’s reaffirmation of an individual’s right to keep and bear arms via District of Columbia v. Heller (2008). He points out that that right–in and of itself–is sufficient reason for keeping arms and bearing them. He wrote, “Because the right to bear arms includes the right to carry firearms for self-defense both inside and outside the home, I find that the District’s ‘good reason’ requirement likely places an unconstitutional burden on this right.”

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.