The District of Columbia's arguments in favor of the handgun ban are that there is no individual right to bear arms unconnected to militia service; that the Second Amendment doesn't constrain the local regulation in the District; and that D.C.'s law is in any event reasonable (because it allows possession of shotguns and rifles). Also, the D.C. Circuit's decision against the district is avowedly an outlier among a fairly significant body of lower-court authority. So, the more likely (if still quite uncertain) outcome is that D.C. will prevail.