"Gun violence." "Gun crime." "Assault rifles." "Why does anyone need an AR-15?"
The list goes on, with the above code words and phrases perched atop the Democrat Party's list of scaremongering attacks against the Second Amendment and America's law-abiding gun owners.
Welp, former Fox News "The Five" co-host Jeanine Pirro, now the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, might not be the sheriff of our nation's capital — but she might as well be.
As first reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday, Pirro announced that registered rifle and shotgun owners may no longer face felony charges for carrying their weapons in D.C. due to concerns that the district’s restrictive gun laws run counter to several Supreme Court rulings.
In a statement to The Post, Pirro explained that the capital's blanket ban on carrying shotguns or rifles "clearly violates" Supreme Court rulings in two critical cases that expanded Second Amendment rights: District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022).
Without question, President Donald Trump and I are committed to prosecuting gun crime. This unprecedented number of gun prosecutions in both federal and local courts is carried out only in a manner consistent with the Constitution and the laws of the land.
Nothing in this memo from the Department of Justice and the Office of Solicitor General precludes the United States Attorney’s Office from charging a felon with the possession of a firearm, which includes a rifle, shotgun, and attendant large capacity magazine pursuant to DC Code 22-4503. What it does preclude is a separate charge of possession of a registered rifle or shotgun.
In Heller, the Supreme Court held that individuals may possess firearms in their homes for self-defense purposes, which invalidated a handgun ban the district had in place at the time. In Bruen, the justices said gun-control regulations that aren't rooted in U.S. historical tradition should be struck down by lower courts.
ALSO CHECK OUT: Big, Beautiful Self-Defense Win: Trump Streamlines D.C. Concealed-Carry Permitting
Here's the background:
Under current District law, people are prohibited from carrying rifles or shotguns outside their home or business without a permit, which is rarely granted. Convictions can bring up to five years in prison. D.C. also does not recognize out-of-state permits, a frequent point of contention for Second Amendment advocates.
The D.C. attorney general's office has limited jurisdiction in firearms cases, focusing mainly on juvenile offenses and some misdemeanors.
According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, authorities recovered 98 rifles and 38 shotguns in D.C. in 2023, along with 2,842 pistols and revolvers. Not all were tied to crimes.
In response to a request for comment from the New York Post, Pirro wrote:
Criminal culpability is not determined by the instruments people employ but by the intent and conduct of the actor.
Crimes are intentional acts and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent by my office regardless of what instruments of criminality are used.
My job is to keep this city, its citizens, its businesses, and its visitors safe from harm and I will do that to the fullest extent of the law.
If you've seen Pirro speak, you know she means what she says — and usually, then some.
So while Democrats and lapdog media will no doubt histrionically howl at the moon over this latest (faux) transgression by Team Trump, Judge Jeanine Pirro and the U.S. Department of Justice will continue their efforts to truly make our nation's capital safe again.
Editor's Note: The days of lawlessness in Washington, D.C. are over. Thanks to President Trump, our nation's capital will be SAFE once again.
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