Judge Terms Washington's Ban on Handguns in Public as "Unconstitutional"

A federal judge has termed Washington's ban on carrying of handguns in public as "unconstitutional." He struck down the District of Columbia's ban on carrying guns outside of a person's home, concluding it violates Second Amendment rights, the Associated Press reports.

In a Thursday ruling, which was made public only on Saturday, Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. Said: "In light of Supreme Court decisions that struck down near total bans on handguns in the District and Chicago in recent years, there is no longer any basis on which this court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns is constitutional under any level of scrutiny," CNN reports.

Scullin Jr. ordered that the principal gun control laws of the District must be halted. However, it was not clear whether the order is effective immediately or not.

The judgement comes five years after several gun owners filed a lawsuit challenging the gun laws. In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, issuing a landmark decision, struck down the city's 32-year-old ban on handguns. The city rewrote its rules after the 2008 Supreme Court decision. Residents had to register their guns and keep them at home. Gun owners would have to take a safety class, be photographed and fingerprinted and re-register their weapons every three years. These conditions were challenged in court, but upheld by a federal judge in May.

Saturday's federal order was reportedly addressed to the District of Columbia and Police Chief Cathy Lanier and their staffs and others "who receive actual notice" of the judgement. But, it's not clear as to who had received the notice. Also, there was doubt whether the District would appeal.

In a case, sources informed, all parties are required to be duly notified about a ruling and be allowed to appeal before the ruling takes effect, Wall Street OTC reports.