DC gun law gets hearing before Washington appeals court

WASHINGTON (AP) — Appeals court judges had tough questions Tuesday for attorneys defending a District of Columbia law that makes it difficult for gun owners to get concealed carry permits.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard arguments Tuesday in two cases involving the law, which requires people who want to carry a gun in public to show a "good reason to fear injury" or another "proper reason" to carry the weapon. Reasons might include a personal threat, or a job that requires a person to carry or protect cash or valuables. Fewer than 100 people have been granted a concealed carry permit under the law, and lower court judges have disagreed on whether it is likely constitutional.

During oral arguments Tuesday, Judge Thomas B. Griffith suggested that the law means that a woman who lives in a dangerous neighborhood, is frightened and wants to carry a gun for self-protection can't and is limited to "running" if attacked or "learning martial arts."

"Why should someone show a need for self-defense?" said Griffith, who asked numerous questions of lawyers arguing for the city. At one point he told a city attorney that her argument was "absurd."