WRENN v. DIST. OF COLUMBIA

No. 16-7025, No. 16-7067.

864 F.3d 650 (2017)

Brian WRENN, et al., Appellants v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, et al., Appellees. Matthew Grace and Pink Pistols, Appellees v. District of Columbia and Peter Newsham, in his official capacity as Chief of Police for the Metropolitan Police Department, Appellants.

United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit.

Decided July 25, 2017.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Alan Gura , Washington, DC, argued the cause and filed the briefs for appellants.

Herbert W. Titus , Robert J. Olson , William J. Olson , Jeremiah L. Morgan , and John S. Miles , Vienna, VA, were on the brief for amici curiae Gun Owners of America, Inc., et al. in support of appellants.

Holly M. Johnson , Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, argued the cause for appellees. With her on the brief were Karl A. Racine , Attorney General, Todd S. Kim , Solicitor General, and Loren L. AliKhan , Deputy Solicitor General. Richard S. Love , Assistant Attorney General, entered an appearance.

Adam K. Levin and Jonathan E. Lowy , Washington, DC, were on the brief for amicus curiae The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in support of appellees District of Columbia and Cathy L. Lanier.

Brian E. Frosh , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maryland, Joshua N. Auerbach , Assistant Attorney General, Maura Healey , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Eric T. Schneiderman , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of New York, Ellen F. Rosenblum , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Oregon, Robert W. Ferguson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Washington, Kamala D. Harris , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of California, George Jepsen , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut, Douglas S. Chin , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, Lisa Madigan , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Illinois, and Tom Miller , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Iowa, were on the brief for amici curiae States of Maryland, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington in support of appellees.

Paul R.Q. Wolfson , Washington, DC, and Walter A. Smith, Jr. were on the brief for amici curiae DC Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, et al. in support of defendants-appellees.

Deepak Gupta , Washington, DC, was on the brief for amicus curiae Everytown For Gun Safety in support of appellees.

Loren L. AliKhan , Deputy Solicitor General, Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, argued the cause for appellants. With her on the briefs were Karl A. Racine , Attorney General, Todd S. Kim , Solicitor General, and Holly M. Johnson , Assistant Attorney General.

Brian E. Frosh , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Maryland, Joshua N. Auerbach , Assistant Attorney General, Maura Healey , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Eric T. Schneiderman , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of New York, Ellen F. Rosenblum , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Oregon, Robert W. Ferguson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Washington, Kamala D. Harris , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of California, George Jepsen , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut, Douglas S. Chin , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Hawaii, Lisa Madigan , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Illinois, and Tom Miller , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Iowa, were on the brief for Maryland, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Washington in support of appellants.

Paul R.Q. Wolfson , Washington, DC, and Walter A. Smith, Jr. were on the brief for amici curiae DC Appleseed Center for Law & Justice, et al. in support of defendants-appellants.

Deepak Gupta , Washington, DC, was on the brief for amicus curiae Everytown for Gun Safety in support of defendants-appellants.

Adam K. Levin and Jonathan Lowy , Washington, DC, were on the brief for amicus curiae Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in support of appellants District of Columbia and Cathy L. Lanier.

David H. Thompson , Washington, DC, argued the cause for appellees. With him on the brief was Charles J. Cooper , Howard C. Nielson, Jr. , Washington, DC, Peter A. Patterson , Ada, MI, and John D. Ohlendorf , Washington, DC.

Mark Brnovich , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Arizona, John R. Lopez, IV , Solicitor General, Keith Miller , Assistant Solicitor General, Alan Wilson , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of South Carolina, Marty J. Jackley , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of South Dakota, Ken Paxton , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Texas, Sean D. Reyes , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Utah, Patrick Morrisey , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of West Virginia, Brad D. Schimel , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Wisconsin, Peter K. Michael , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Wyoming, Luther Strange , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Alabama, Leslie Rutledge , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Arkansas, Gregory F. Zoeller , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Indiana, Chris Koster , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Missouri, Timothy C. Fox , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Montana, Adam Paul Laxalt , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Nevada, Michael DeWine , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Ohio, and E. Scott Pruitt , Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General for the State of Oklahoma were on the brief for Arizona, Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in support of plaintiffs-appellees.

Dan M. Peterson and C.D. Michel , Long Beach, CA, were on the brief for amici curiae Western States Sheriffs' Association, et al. in support of plaintiffs-appellees.

Paul D. Clement , Erin E. Murphy , and Christopher G. Michel , Washington, DC, were on the brief for amicus curiae National Rifle Association of America, Inc. in support of plaintiffs-appellees.

Herbert W. Titus , Robert J. Olson , William J. Olson , Jeremiah L. Morgan , and John S. Miles , Vienna, VA, were on the brief for amicus curiae Gun Owners of America, Inc., et al. in support of plaintiffs-appellees.

Dissenting opinion filed by Circuit Judge Henderson.


Constitutional challenges to gun laws create peculiar puzzles for courts. In other areas, after all, a law's validity might turn on the value of its goals and the efficiency of its means. But gun laws almost always aim at the most compelling goal — saving lives — while evidence of their effects is almost always...

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