Washington, D.C. Government

The Justice Department filed a civil-rights lawsuit challenging two D.C. provisions: heavy restrictions on popular semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 and the lengthy, case-by-case registration process requiring Metropolitan Police Department approval, arguing the city’s prohibited-weapons list is based on cosmetics, appearance or accessory attachments rather than whether a weapon is “in common use,” and invoking a 2004 Supreme Court precedent. The suit is part of a broader Trump administration push to loosen D.C. gun rules tied to a White House crime task force and federal deployments, and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro has instructed prosecutors not to enforce the city’s bans on openly carrying rifles and shotguns or on magazines holding more than 10 rounds; D.C.’s attorney general declined to comment.