The D.C. Council on Wednesday approved the permanent version of concealed carry laws meant to comply with a federal court ruling that overturned the District’s ban on the carrying of firearms in public.
The legislation keeps in place the emergency laws adopted earlier this year that require a gun owner to demonstrate a need for a concealed carry permit and regulate how the owner can obtain a permit and under what circumstances it would be valid. The legislation came under fire from gun owners who said the laws were so restrictive they would not be able to qualify for permits.
The permanent law was approved in a 11-1 vote, with D.C. Council member David Grosso, at-large independent, voting against the measure.
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit that resulted in the gun laws being overturned this summer are continuing a legal battle on the matter, asking U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. to find the city in contempt for enacting new gun laws that are so restrictive as to be out of compliance with his order.
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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