Federal Appeals Court Refuses to Halt DC Law Restricting Capacity of Gun Ammunition Magazines
The plaintiff argued that the District’s magazine cap is unconstitutional according to a test that the Supreme Court articulated in the 2022 Bruen ruling.
A federal appeals court in Washington denied a gun rights challenge on Oct. 29 to the District of Columbia’s ban on magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition.
Lead appellant Andrew Hanson appealed U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras’s April 20, 2023, decision that denied Hanson’s request to block the law on constitutional grounds. Contreras found that the local law adheres to the U.S. Constitution.
Hanson appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which heard arguments on Feb. 13.
On Oct. 29, a three-judge panel of the appeals court voted 2–1 to deny the appeal.
Hanson argued that the District’s magazine cap is unconstitutional according to a test the Supreme Court articulated in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which recognizes a right to bear arms in public for self defense.
A federal district court denied Hanson’s motion for a preliminary injunction to halt the local law.
“The Appellants have failed to make the ‘clear showing’ required for a preliminary injunction on this early and undeveloped record … we affirm the denial of their motion,” the appeals court said in its new order.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
