The Justice Department sued Washington, D.C., alleging the District and MPD unlawfully ban AR‑15s and other firearms and are refusing to register weapons it says are protected by the Second Amendment. Economists analyzing data on over 500,000 Americans found high‑earning renters cut luxury card spending after local home‑price spikes while lowest‑income renters increased credit‑card use by about 3 percent. Other items: a lawsuit over a race‑based theater discount in New York; the FCC's planned ban on many foreign‑made drones and components; and the recall of more than two dozen career diplomats under the Trump administration.
DOJ Sues D.C. Over AR‑15 Ban and Registration Practices — Roundup: Housing, Theater, Drones, Diplomats
Good News for D.C.'s Gun Owners
Yesterday the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the government of Washington, D.C., accusing the District and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) of unlawfully banning AR‑15s and other firearms and of maintaining registration practices the DOJ says violate the Second Amendment.
DOJ Action and Legal Context
The complaint argues that broad registration prohibitions on certain firearms amount to "an unconstitutional incursion into the Second Amendment rights of law‑abiding citizens seeking to own protected firearms for lawful purposes," according to the Justice Department's statement. The DOJ also asserts that MPD's pattern of refusing to register firearms it nonetheless acknowledges are protected forces residents into litigation and exposes them to potential wrongful arrest.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the new Second Amendment Section filed the suit to ensure the rights secured in District of Columbia v. Heller are enforced today.
The suit invokes the 2008 Supreme Court decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the Court held that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm in the home for lawful purposes. The DOJ says the current D.C. policies are inconsistent with that precedent and seeks judicial relief to restore registration and possession rights for law‑abiding residents.
Economic Behavior When Homeownership Seems Out of Reach
Economists Seung Hyeong Lee (Northwestern) and Younggeun Yoo (University of Chicago) developed a model of consumer behavior and analyzed transaction data from more than 500,000 Americans since 2014 to study responses to rapid home‑price increases.
They found that after local home‑price spikes, higher‑earning renters (top income quintile, roughly >$7,500/month) tended to reduce credit‑card spending on luxury and discretionary items—consistent with saving for a future home. By contrast, lowest‑income renters (bottom quintile, generally < $3,000/month) increased credit‑card spending by about 3 percent on average. The authors use these results to question the cultural emphasis on homeownership as the primary path to financial security and to highlight the varied ways households respond to affordability pressures.
New York Theatre Lawsuit
The New York Times reports that a New Jersey musician filed suit against Playwrights Horizons, alleging that a discounted ticket offer for people of color to attend a recent performance constituted racial discrimination. The suit was brought with involvement from Edward Blum, the activist lawyer known for challenging race‑based policies; Blum's organization, the American Alliance for Equal Rights, has pursued numerous similar challenges in recent years.
Technology And Security: Drone Restrictions
The Federal Communications Commission announced plans to ban most foreign‑made drones and critical components for unmanned aircraft systems, a move reported as coming ahead of a deadline to add Chinese drone‑maker SZ DJI Technology Co. to the agency's covered entity list. The restriction aims to limit national‑security risks tied to certain foreign manufacturers and supply chains.
Diplomatic Shake‑Up
The Washington Post reports that the Trump administration has recalled more than two dozen career diplomats from ambassadorial and other senior posts worldwide as part of efforts to align the State Department with the 'America First' agenda. Current and former officials warned that the directive could leave key embassies without experienced leadership and that many affected diplomats were given 90 days to find other roles within the department.
Personal Note And Closing
The original roundup's author notes this will be their last edition for a short period as they expect their second child this week and plan to return in early February. They also invited documentary recommendations for recovery, especially on topics like surfing, skateboarding, China, the Balkans, cooking, baking, or economists such as Milton Friedman.
Sources: DOJ press release; The Washington Post; The New York Times; Bloomberg; research by Lee and Yoo.
