Defendants accused of violating Washington, D.C.,’s gun laws will challenge the charges under the Supreme Court ruling upholding an individual right to possess guns, says McClatchy Newspapers. “Virtually every defense attorney” whose client is facing “a gun count” in the indictment is obligated to seek dismissal, said Jack King, a D.C. attorney and the director of public affairs for the National Association of Criminal Defense lawyers. The impact could be extensive because many gun charges are linked to drug raids, he said, adding that, “Very often guns go with drugs in this town.” Fifteen percent of state inmates and 13 percent of federal inmates carried a handgun during commission of their crimes, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics figures.
McClatchy also reports that both pro-gun and anti-gun groups could benefit from the case. “Controversy has a way of mobilizing activists, enhancing fundraising and giving volunteers a jolt of adrenalin,” says McClatchy. The fresh court, legislative and public relations challenges fueled by the court’s ruling could guarantee years of full employment. As Alan Gottlieb of the small Second Amendment Foundation put it, “Our work has only just begun.”