The Revolver vs. Semi-Auto Gun Phenom in D.C.

Fresh from its stinging defeat by the U.S. Supreme Court which struck down its gun ban, the District of Columbia quickly put together a new set of local laws governing the issuing of handgun permits.

Perhaps D.C. should have taken a bit longer to implement those new ordinances.

D.C. has specified that in its massive gun registration drive, which it began Thursday morning, that it would only place revolvers under consideration, not semi-automatic handguns.

But semi-automatic handguns are the most popular guns of choice for the millions of Americans who wish to protect themselves easily, cheaply, and expediently.

Nowhere in the Supreme Court ruling did the justices specify a type of handgun that was 'unacceptable.'

No doubt revolvers are wonderful and have stood the test of time. They are less likely to jam and encounter some of the other problems inherent in semi-automatic models.

But they have definite limitations.

In a home invasion involving multiple perpetrators, the limited firing capacity of a revolver may mean the death of the homeowner. With a semi-automatic, the frantic victim can fire off round after round without having to worry about reloading before the thugs are stopped.

To gunnies I am aware this is beneath elementary stuff. But to those who are not into the whys and wherefores of self-defense, these commonsense facts may be elusive. In other words, when it comes to personal protection and safety, the revolver vs. semi-auto issue is a major consideration.

Supposedly Mr. Heller showed up to apply for his license without bringing his handgun with him. D.C. wants to do 'a ballistics test' on each gun it approves.

But this is beside the point. The point is that D.C. has absolutely no legal basis for which to deny citizens the right to purchase, register, and use the handgun of their choice, whether it be semi-automatic or not.

BREAKING NEWS: D.C. REJECTS HELLER PERMIT

David Codrea is reporting this afternoon that the District of Columbia has rejected the request of Dick Heller to get a handgun permit.

Heller is the man who brought the initial lawsuit against D.C.'s unconstitutional gun ban, which has been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yet when Mr. Heller showed up to register his firearm under D.C.'s new laws (approved just this week), he was summarily rejected. City officials stated that the handgun is a semi-automatic weapon, which most handguns are these days.

The Supreme Court, however, stated in its ruling that American citizens have a right to private gun ownership and that means they also have a right to their weapon of choice for self-defense, the handgun.

The majority opinion never specified wheel guns or semi-automatic handguns, but clearly most handguns sold today are in the semi-automatic category.

Sounds like Mr. Heller has reason to bring another lawsuit against D.C.