On March 9, 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in the Parker v. District of Columbia case (now known as District of Columbia v. Heller) that D.C.'s handgun ban is unconstitutional. This marked the first time in history that a federal court had struck down a gun law on Second Amendment grounds. D.C.'s elected officials spoke out immediately and forcefully against the decision and petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the ruling. On November 20, 2007, the Court agreed to do so.

The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence's sister organization, the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, filed an amicus brief in the case, affirming the right of D.C.'s elected officials and residents to determine their own public safety laws. "Far from limiting the ability of States and localities to redress threats to the safety of their citizens, the Second Amendment enhances state and local authority to protect life and liberty through the maintenance of militias composed of the local populace," states the brief. "It thus embodies the uniquely American principle of federalism that arose out of a uniquely American historical debate about the respective roles of state militias and a national standing army."

Unfortunately, on June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court embraced the Parker decision and overturned several of the District's gun laws in a 5-4 ruling. The Court's decision, however, affirmed that a wide variety of firearm regulations are constitutional and permissible, including licensing and registration.

DC's elected officials spoke out immediately and unanimously against the Parker decision.

• Editorial in the Washington Post- July 7, 2008
  Packing Protection or Packing Suicide Risk?

• Editorial in the Wall Street Journal- June 30, 2008
  Some Gun Rules We Can All Agree On

• Editorial on Gun Guys- June 27, 2008
  Public Health Response to Supreme Court's Heller Decision

• Editorial in the New York Times- June 27, 2008
  Lock and Load

• Editorial in the Washington Post - June 27, 2008
  Handguns Supreme

• Editorial in the Chicago Tribune - June 26, 2008
  Repeal the 2nd Amendment

• District of Columbia v. Heller Frequently Asked Questions
• Statement by Ed Fund Executive Director Josh Horwitz before the D.C. Council regarding the Heller decision
• Ed Fund press release in response to Heller decision
• Full text of District of Columbia v. Heller decision by U.S. Supreme Court
• Full transcript and audio file of oral arguments in Heller case
• Ed Fund amicus brief in support of the District of Columbia in the Heller case
• D.C.'s respondent's brief in the District of Columbia v. Heller case and the appendix to the brief
• D.C.'s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and the appendix to that document
• Full text of Parker v. District of Columbia decision by U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit