New Op-ed at Fox News: D.C. Gun Ban Proponents Ignore the Facts

My new op-ed with my son Maxim Lott is up:

For gun control proponents and opponents a lot is riding on a former security guard for the Supreme Court Annex. Next Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments over whether the District of Columbia's ban on handguns and its requirement that any rifles or shotguns remain locked violates the plaintiff, Dick Heller's, constitutional rights.

Whatever the court decides, no one expects them to end gun control any more than the First Amendment's "congress shall make no laws" has prevented the passage of campaign finance regulations. The decision is likely to be limited to just whether a ban "infringed" on "the right of the people to keep and bear arms."

If the D.C. ban is accepted by the court, it is hard to believe that any gun regulation will ever be struck down. If the court strikes it down, where the courts draw the line on what laws are considered "reasonable" regulations will take years to sort out . . .

Some comments on this piece can be found here and here.