Gamble v. United States

Summary

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals affirmed Bashawn Gamble’s conviction for carrying a pistol without a license. The court held that the Second Amendment does not protect carrying a concealed firearm in public and concluded that the District’s concealed-carry prohibition was constitutionally applied to Gamble. The court also rejected his broader challenge to the statute and denied the requested remand.

Holdings

1. The Second Amendment does not confer a right to carry and possess a concealed firearm in public.
2. The District of Columbia's carrying-a-pistol-without-a-license statute was constitutionally applied to Gamble's carrying of a concealed, unlicensed pistol on a public street.
3. The court did not need to decide the constitutionality of the statute's open-carry provision because any such issue would not affect Gamble's conviction for carrying a concealed weapon.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Second Amendment protects carrying a concealed firearm in public outside the home or place of business.
2. Whether the District of Columbia's statute prohibiting carrying a pistol without a license was unconstitutional as applied to Gamble's concealed carrying of an unlicensed pistol.
3. Whether the statute was facially or overbreadth-invalid because it also prohibited open carrying, and whether invalidity of any open-carry provision would affect Gamble's concealed-carry conviction.

Disposition

affirmed