[JURIST] The city government of Washington, DC [official website] on Monday asked [petition, text] the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals [official website] for an en banc rehearing of a case that led to a controversial ruling last month invalidating the city's handgun ban [JURIST report]. City lawyers warn that the current ruling "severely limits" the ability of local and federal legislatures to regulate firearms to protect citizens and law-enforcement officers.

By a 2-1 panel vote in March, the judges deciding Parker v. District of Columbia relied on the Second Amendment [FindLaw text] to overturn a 31-year old ban on handguns in the District of Columbia. Mayor Adrian Fenty [official website] and the city argued that the panel's interpretation of the Second Amendment is "contrary to [the precedents] of nearly every other federal court of appeals, as well as the highest local court in this jurisdiction." The case is widely expected to end up before the US Supreme Court, regardless of who ultimately wins in the DC Circuit Court. AP has more. SCOTUSblog has additional coverage.