One Dead Near White House — In America's Most Gun-Restricted City

A gunman opened fire near a White House security checkpoint in Washington, D.C., killing one person and leaving an innocent bystander in serious condition — right at the edge of the most fortified perimeter in the country.

Let that sink in. Criminal violence erupted within spitting distance of the Secret Service's outer security ring. One person is dead. Another civilian — who had nothing to do with this — is in the hospital fighting for their life.

Details on the shooter and motive are still developing. What is already undeniable: the most heavily policed square mile in the United States could not stop a violent criminal from pulling a trigger and hitting people who never saw it coming.

D.C. residents are among the most disarmed law-abiding citizens in the country. The District's gun laws rank among the most restrictive in America — may-issue carry permits, byzantine registration requirements, magazine restrictions. The entire anti-gun wish list is already law here.

And yet: a man is dead, a bystander is hospitalized, and it happened in a zone crawling with federal law enforcement.

This is exactly what Second Amendment advocates have argued for decades. Criminals do not obey gun laws. They never have. They never will. Stripping firearms from law-abiding citizens does not create safety — it creates a population of easy targets while violent offenders operate without fear.

The anti-gun lobby will exploit this shooting to demand more restrictions on the people who were not doing the shooting. Watch for the usual suspects — Everytown, Giffords, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser — to turn this tragedy into a fundraising pitch before the crime scene tape comes down.

Don't let them. The answer to criminal violence in America's most gun-restricted city is not stripping more rights from citizens who follow the rules.

**The takeaway:** This incident is still developing. Stay with WTF News for updates. If you live in or visit D.C., know your rights — and understand that the government that took those rights from you cannot guarantee your safety in return.