A U.S. federal judge has ruled that a ban on carrying handguns in Washington, D.C., is unconstitutional.
The ruling, made public Saturday, overturns the city's prohibition on carrying a gun in public.
Judge Frederick Scullin said in his opinion "there is no longer any basis on which this Court can conclude that the District of Columbia's total ban on the public carrying of ready-to-use handguns outside the home is constitutional under any level of scrutiny."
It was not immediately clear whether the city intends to appeal the ruling.
The U.S. capital had a law prohibiting anyone from carrying a handgun outside the home.
Proponents of carrying handguns usually base their claims on the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
The Second Amendment reads: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
