Talk:.50 BMG/Archives/2024/January

April 2022 Dubious Tag

The article states "in the United States, Washington, D.C. disallows registration of .50 BMG rifles, thus rendering civilian possession unlawful" - However, the U.S. Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008) that firearms registration is not discretionary but rather is "shall issue" under the second amendment to the U.S. Constitution, provided the registrant meets the requirements of statutory law. Therefore, the dubious tag was inserted concerning what are likely to be outdated references under old law. 98.178.191.34 (talk) 03:03, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

D.C. v. Heller is a fairly narrow ruling that primarily addresses handguns and not .50 BMG rifles. The Washington, D.C., police website only discusses registration of certain handguns. Do you have a published source stating that D.C. is now allowing registration of .50 BMG rifles? Carguychris (talk) 15:21, 12 April 2022 (UTC)

Furthermore—now that I've had a moment to look up the text—I believe that the assertion in the edit summary that The court ruled that D.C. must issue permits concerning any firearm which is not a destructive device under federal statute is factually incorrect. Here's what the ruling says.

Assuming he [Dick Heller] is not disqualified from exercising Second Amendment rights, the District must permit Heller to register his handgun and must issue him a license to carry it in the home.
— Justice Antonin Scalia, D.C. v. Heller, 478 F. 3d 370, pg. 3

D.C. v. Heller ordered the District to issue a license to possess a handgun to a person not disqualified from owning one under federal law. That's all! There is no allowance in the order for other types of firearms. I have found no published source indicating that the District must now allow registration of any other type of firearm on a "shall issue" basis. Carguychris (talk) 16:00, 12 April 2022 (UTC)