D.C.’s Law Was Proportionate to the Problem of Handgun Violence

Justice Breyer argued in his dissenting opinion that even if the majority was correct that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to own guns for self-defense, the District of Columbia’s ordinances should have been upheld.  Applying an interest-balancing inquiry, Justice Breyer found that the ordinances, which focus on the dangers of handguns in a high-crime urban area, “represent[] a permissible legislative response to a serious, indeed life-threatening, problem.”  Heller, slip op. at 2 (Breyer, J., dissenting).      

Indeed, the lower court was presented with ample evidence demonstrating the need for the District’s ordinances.  In 1976, the Council enacted a comprehensive law regulating firearms.  This law included a provision prohibiting most residents from registering (and thus possessing) any handgun not registered before the law became effective. D.C. Code §§ 7-2502.01, 7-2502.02. The law was enacted after extensive deliberation in response to evidence showing that handguns pose a unique threat in the District’s densely populated urban environment; specifically, that they are disproportionately used in violent crimes, accidental shootings, shootings of police, and suicides.

More recent evidence continues to confirm the particular threat posed by handguns.  For example, from 1993 to 2001, an average of 737,360 violent crimes were committed with handguns each year, making handguns seven times more likely to be used to commit violent crimes than other firearms. Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, National Crime Victimization Survey, 1993-2001 – Weapons Use and Violent Crime 3 (Sept. 2003). Handguns are used in approximately 75% of all firearm homicides and 70% of all firearm suicides. Firearm Injury in the U.S., Firearm & Injury Center at the University of Pennsylvania 7.

In addition, the District’s law allowed residents to continue to possess long guns, thus permitting the possession of “arms” for self-defense. As Justice Breyer concluded in his dissenting opinion, “the District law is tailored to the life-threatening problems it attempts to address. The law concerns one class of weapons, handguns, leaving residents free to possess shotguns and rifles, along with ammunition.”  Heller, slip op. at 35 (Breyer, J., dissenting).

Significantly, the D.C. law has proven particularly effective at reducing rates of suicide. In fact, the District’s overall suicide rate has consistently been the lowest in the nation. Moreover, between 2000 and 2004, more than 1,400 children 16 or younger committed suicide in the U.S. Not one child in that age group committed suicide during this time period in the District.