For years, the District of Columbia's democratically-enacted, tough gun laws have been under attack by the gun lobby, both in the U.S. Congress and the nation's courts. The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) has formed a coalition to defend the power of the citizens of the District of Columbia to decide by democratic means whether and how firearms will be regulated in the city where they live. This is reasonable in order to ensure public safety, particularly in a time when violent gun crime is on the rise. The National Coalition for DC Democracy and Safety (NCDCDS) includes a wide variety of local and national organizations and works to educate Americans across the country about how the denial of representation for District residents in Congress has distorted the debate over D.C.'s gun laws. 

Unfortunately, on June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court declared several of the District's gun laws (including the city's handgun ban) unconstitutional in a controversial 5-4 ruling in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court's decision, however, affirmed that a wide variety of firearm regulations are constitutional and permissible, including licensing and registration. The city will now concentrate on revising its gun laws to conform to the Court's ruling while at the same ensuring the safety of D.C. residents. The Ed Fund, with its expertise on municipal firearm laws, will look to assist D.C. officials with this process.  

On August 28, 2007, DC residents participated in a National Day of Protest Against Illegal Guns at Realco Guns, the top supplier of crime guns to the District of Columbia

• Washington Post - U.S. House, D.C. Council Wrestle Over Gun Control - September 17, 2008
• Washington Post - City in the Crossfire - September 10, 2008
• Washington Post - Gun Bill Dangerous, D.C. Chief Tells House - September 10, 2008
• Washington Post - Gun Bill Could Strip D.C. of Control - September 9, 2008 
• Law.com - Lawyers in Supreme Court Gun Case Ask for $3.5 Million in Fees - August 27, 2008
• Washington Times - Gun Owners Arm Themselves with Advocacy Group - August 7, 2008
• Washington Post - D.C. is Sued Again Over Handgun Rules - July 29, 2008
• Washington Post - Turnout Low on First Day of Handgun Registration - July 17, 2008
• Washington Post - A New Chance to Curb Gun Violence - July 17, 2008
• Washington Post - D.C. Tries to Finesse Gun Ruling - July 17, 2008
• Washington Post - D.C. Gun Ban Is Out, But Regulations Stay - July 16, 2008
• Washington Post - A New Gun Law - July 15, 2008
• Washington Post - District Gun Bill Goes to Council - July 15, 2008
• Washington Post - Killer Ideas for Selling Guns in D.C. - July 9, 2008
• Washington Post - Handguns Supreme - June 27, 2008
• Washington Post - D.C. Views Shaped by a History of Violence - June 27, 2008
• Washington Post - D.C. Government Faces a New Reality - June 27, 2008
• New York Times - Lock and Load - June 27, 2008
• Washington Post - A Blooming Arms Race in D.C.? - June 1, 2008
• Washington Post - Gun Search Program To Be Request Only - April 4, 2008
• Washington Post - Fighting Gun Traffickers Involves Lots of Legwork, a Little Luck - March 17, 2008
• Washingtonian - DC Gun Rights: Do You Want This Next To Your Bed? - March 1, 2008
• Washington Post - Tackling Gun Violence And the Scars It Leaves - February 11, 2008
• Washington Post - Why Do Some Lives Matter Less in D.C.? - December 16, 2007
• Washington Post - Police Reviving Program to Recover Illegal Guns - October 12, 2007
• Washington Post - Senators Block DC Vote Bill, Delivering Possibly Fatal Blow - September 19, 2007
• Washington Post - DC Residents Join National Day of Protest Against Illegal Guns - August 28, 2007

• Would your organization like to join the National Coalition for DC Democracy and Safety? Click here.
  
• Use our Talking Points in speaking out on the District of Columbia v. Heller case.

• Culture Shocks - The Supreme Court Overturned the District's Ban on Handguns - June 26, 2008

• DC Trial - Trial Lawyers Ignore the Gun Lobby at Their Own Peril (pdf) - Spring 2008
  

• Legal Times - Supreme Court Hears Arguments in D.C. Gun Ban Case - March 18, 2008

• Washington Post - The District's Gun Ban Goes to Court - March 17, 2008

• Washington Post - Gun Ban Ruling Puts Fenty on the Spot - May 7, 2007

• Washington Examiner - District Residents Need a Vote in Congress, Not More Guns - April 5, 2007

• Press Release - Decision of U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to Overturn the City's Handgun Ban - March 12, 2007

• Legal Times - Please Don't Shoot (pdf) - September 18, 2006
  

• Testimony by Ed Fund Director of Communciations Ladd Everitt before D.C. Ward 4 Commissioners regarding the Heller decision
  
  
• September 2008 poll shows that 69% of Americans oppose attempts by Congress to repeal D.C.'s gun laws
  
  
• Important Questions for new D.C. gun lobby group, Capital Gun Owners
  
  
• Testimony by Ed Fund Executive Director Josh Horwitz before D.C. Council regarding the Heller decision

• View the ATF's 2007 trace data (pdf) for the District of Columbia.

• View the "2006 Annual Report on Guns in the District of Columbia" (pdf) published by the MPDC

• Read the full text of H.R. 1399 (pdf), the National Rifle Associaton's bill to repeal DC's gun laws.