D.C. Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Metro Concealed-Carry Ban

Last updated July 2026 · By Nick Hall, covers Second Amendment law and carry news for USA Gun Shop

Quick take: On July 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit revived a lawsuit brought by four licensed concealed-carry holders who want to carry on Washington’s Metro trains and buses. The panel reversed a lower court that had thrown the case out for lack of standing, so the challenge to D.C.’s transit gun ban now moves forward. One key point: the ruling decided who may sue, not whether the ban is constitutional.

What the D.C. Circuit actually decided

The court revived the case on a narrow procedural point, not on the Second Amendment itself. A three-judge panel, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, reversed the district court’s dismissal and sent the case back for further proceedings. Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan and Senior Judge Harry Edwards joined the opinion. The judges did not rule that the ban is legal or illegal. They held only that the four plaintiffs have the right to be in court, something the trial judge had denied when he dismissed the suit in August 2024. That distinction matters, because the constitutional question about carrying on transit stays open.

The law at the center of the fight

At issue is D.C. Code Section 7-2509.07(a)(6), which the court calls the “Metro Ban.” It bars anyone, including holders of a valid D.C. concealed-carry license, from carrying a pistol on public transit vehicles and inside Metrorail stations. Covered vehicles include Metrobus, Metrorail trains, and MetroAccess. A violation can bring a fine or up to 180 days in jail, or a civil penalty instead. The plaintiffs, Gregory Angelo, Tyler Yzaguirre, Robert Miller, and Cameron Erickson, all hold D.C. carry licenses and say they ride Metro regularly when unarmed. They first sued in 2022, and the panel heard argument in October 2025.

Why the panel let the case move forward

The plaintiffs won on what the court called a “pocketbook injury.” Rather than break the law, the four riders have paid for cars, gas, tolls, and parking to avoid carrying on transit, spending more than a Metro fare would cost. The district court had leaned on the circuit’s older Navegar and Seegars rulings to demand proof of a “credible and imminent threat of prosecution,” which the riders could not show. Records they obtained listed 71 firearm arrests across the D.C. Metro system from 2018 through 2022. The appeals court said the prosecution-threat test governs fear-based claims, not ongoing money lost from obeying a criminal statute. At argument, the District conceded that pushing armed license holders off Metro is “exactly the purpose” of the law, which helped tie the added cost to the ban. Because that cost is concrete and traceable, the riders can sue. For how carry rules differ by jurisdiction, see our guide to U.S. gun laws by state.

The Bruen “sensitive places” question is still ahead

The bigger Second Amendment issue now returns to the trial court. Under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, a government defending a gun restriction must show it fits the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation, though certain “sensitive places” such as schools and courthouses can stay gun-free. D.C. argues Metro qualifies as one such place. The plaintiffs’ attorney, George Lyon, counters that trains and buses lack the screening and steady police presence of a true sensitive place. The D.C. Circuit did not resolve that dispute. At the standing stage, judges assume the challengers are correct on the merits, so this ruling says nothing final about whether the ban survives.

What it means for permit holders who ride transit

For now, nothing changes at the turnstile. D.C.’s Metro Ban stays in force while the case proceeds, so a licensed carrier who boards Metrorail or Metrobus armed still risks arrest. The decision keeps alive a challenge that could someday settle the question, but it grants no immediate right to carry on transit. Anyone moving through the capital region should also remember that reciprocity is thin here, since D.C., Maryland, and Virginia treat permits very differently, as our concealed carry reciprocity map shows. Watch the district court on remand, and any later appeal, for the decision that actually reaches the Second Amendment.

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