Lucas Proclaims Victory for Gun Rights in Our Nation's Capitol

Press Release

Lucas Proclaims Victory for Gun Rights in Our Nation's Capitol

Congressman Lucas declares a victory for individual freedoms following the Supreme Court's landmark decision today in District of Columbia v. Heller declaring the District of Columbia's 1976 gun control law unconstitutional.

"Today, the Supreme Court stood up for the individual rights of the people living and working in our nation's capitol," stated Lucas. "The Heller decision has righted a 30 year wrong and I wholeheartedly agree with it."

Congressman Lucas has been a long-time supporter of an individual's rights to keep and bear arms. In addition to being a cosponsor of H.R. 1399, the District of Columbia Personal Protection Act granting rights to D.C. residents to own a gun for self-defense, Lucas joined over 300 of his fellow Members of Congress to file an amicus curiae brief in support of repealing the ban in February of this year.

"After 30 years, the only success this gun ban achieved was to turn D.C. into the murder capital of the country, disarming law-abiding citizens while keeping guns in the hands of criminals," stated Lucas.

The decision in District of Columbia v. Heller nullified two provisions of the 1976 gun control law: a flat ban on possessing a gun in one's home and a requirement that any gun, except one kept at a business, must be unloaded and disassembled or have a trigger lock in place. The justices voted 5-4 against the ban, with Justice Antonin Scalia writing the opinion for the majority. It was the first time a federal appeals court ruled a gun law unconstitutional on Second Amendment grounds. The decision was the final one of the Term. The Court will return on Monday, October 6, 2008.

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