Gun owners sue D.C., demanding to carry firearms on Metro

The plaintiffs say a recent Supreme Court ruling opens the door for guns on buses and trains.

Updated June 30, 2022 at 9:26 p.m. EDT|Published June 30, 2022 at 7:05 p.m. EDT

Security fencing in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/Bloomberg)

Four men with permits to carry concealed handguns in the District sued the city on Thursday, arguing that the ban on carrying firearms in the Metro transit system is unconstitutional under a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, cites the Supreme Court’s June 23 decision that makes it harder for governments to restrict the carrying of pistols outside the home. Writing for the court’s 6-to-3 conservative majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said that to ban concealed handguns in a particular place, “the government must demonstrate that the regulation is consistent with this Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”