Can D.C.'s "Ghost Gun" Ban Survive A Lawsuit?

We’ll soon find out. Last month Dick Heller (of Heller v. District of Columbia fame) and two other D.C. residents sued the District over its ban on home-built firearms, and now the Washington Post is taking a closer look at the litigation. You’d expect the Post to skewer the lawsuit, but their reporting is actually pretty fair. In fact, the paper even points out one of the biggest issues with D.C.’s latest gun ban.

Heller’s lawsuit acknowledges that the District has “a legitimate governmental concern” in prohibiting untraceable firearms. But “it is astounding that the D.C. ghost gun legislation doesn’t say a word about requiring serial numbers.”

The suit also challenges a D.C. law that has been on the books since 1976: “No person or organization shall manufacture any firearm, destructive device or parts thereof, or ammunition, within the District.” Lyon wrote, “We know of no other jurisdiction in the United States that has purported to ban the manufacture of firearms.”