Citation

Zimring FE. New Crim. Law Rev. 2008; 11(2): 312-322.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, University of California Press)

DOI

10.1525/nclr.2008.11.2.312

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This note examines the wholly novel constitutional calculus used by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2007 to strike down the District of Columbia's prohibition of civilian handgun possession. The central feature of the court's analysis of handguns was finding that modern handguns should be regarded as "lineal descendents" of militia era flintlocks, a finding that ignores the provable fact that the pistols of 1794 were not concealed or concealable weapons. Because concealability is the central danger of the modern handgun, this critical element in the opinion is an error both of historical analysis and constitutional reasoning.