Top D.C. policymakers have raised concerns that a federal court’s decision to strike down the city’s ban on carrying handguns in public will endanger the nation’s capital.
D.C. Council members and other city leaders have condemned the ruling, calling it a safety threat to the District’s residents, tourists and high-profile visitors.
A federal judge has given the city government three months to respond to the decision. The D.C. Attorney General’s office requested that the judge double the stay from 90 to 180 days on Tuesday to give the city more time to determine whether it would appeal the decision or draft legislation in response to the ruling.
University spokeswoman Maralee Csellar said GW does not anticipate the ruling will impact campus security. She said the University Police Department is waiting for D.C. to issue new guidelines about the law before it makes any changes to security policies.
Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh, who is also a GW Law School professor, said eliminating the ban was a “scary prospect.” She said because D.C. houses so many dignitaries, allowing residents and visitors to carry handguns in public could pose a challenge to local law enforcement.
“We are a magnet for people who have grievances,” she said in an interview. “They potentially want to make mischief.”
Council member Jack Evans, who represents Foggy Bottom, said he’s disappointed the court struck down D.C.’s ban, calling the decision “dangerous.”
“We need to have stricter gun control laws, and it’s been watered down here, there and everywhere,” Evans said.
Ward 4 Council member Muriel Bowser, who is also the Democratic candidate for mayor, also said a change would create a significant threat to public safety.
In the past three years, GW has responded to several gun threats on campus. In March 2012, the University evacuated Gelman Library following reports of an armed man in the building. The Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Park Police and Secret Service searched the building for the man who reportedly ran from the White House carrying a handgun, but they did not find a suspect.
Last November, MPD took several hours to contact campus police about an armed robbery on campus, and two weeks later, UPD waited minutes before informing city police about reports of a gunman in South Hall.
College campus safety consultant James Clark said guns could make their way onto GW’s open, urban campus.
But the University will still be able to make its own rules about firearms, even if D.C. residents are allowed to carry guns in public, he said. Plus, GW can ask for support from other police forces because of its proximity to the White House and World Bank.
“There’s enough bad guys in D.C. driving around with guns that you don’t even know about, that’s just the society in which we live,” he said. “Now there’s this concern that the law has changed. That doesn’t mean there’s more criminals – more people might just carry firearms.”
