The District of Columbia has agreed to pay the legal fees of plaintiffs in the court case that overturned the city's former ban on gun carry.
The settlement, filed Thursday, stems from Palmer v. District of Columbia. The judge in the case, Frederick J. Scullin, declared the city’s total ban on gun carry unconstitutional. The District was forced to pass a law allowing gun carry, but is now locked in another legal battle over the law's constitutionality.
After the Palmer ruling, Scullin ordered the two sides to reach an agreement to close out the case. D.C. must pay $75,000 to the plaintiffs as part of that agreement.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which financed the suit, celebrated the settlement but lamented the fact that taxpayers would foot the bill.
"I wish the District of Columbia City Council members had to pay the $75,000 out of their own pockets instead of making the taxpayers cough it up," SAF founder Alan Gottlieb "If they had to pay the legal bills themselves these unconstitutional laws would never get passed."
"We love winning firearms freedoms one lawsuit at a time and making governments pay our legal fees. They seem to never learn."
The $75,000 will be paid to prominent gun-rights lawyer Alan Gura for his work on the case.
Alan Gura declined to comment on the settlement. The District of Columbia Office of Attorney General did not respond to requests for comment.