Cheney Joins Congress In Opposing D.C. Gun Ban

"The president leaves procedural questions to the lawyers. What's most important is that this administration firmly supports the individual-rights interpretation of the Second Amendment."

Mitchell said Cheney signed on to the brief because "the vice president believes strongly in the Second Amendment." Reminded that it put him at odds with the administration's official position, she repeated, "It's an issue he feels strongly about."

Neither Mitchell nor Fratto would say whether the president and the vice president talked about Cheney's decision.

"We're glad to have the vice president on board with the Second Amendment," said Alan Gura, one of the attorneys for the D.C. residents who challenged the law. He was sharply critical of Clement's brief when it was filed, saying it was "basically siding with the District of Columbia."

The District's argument takes the position adopted by a majority of the nation's appeals courts that the Second Amendment guarantees a right to bear arms only as a collective, civic right related to military service.

But even if the amendment provides an individual right, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit held last spring, the city argues that it may ban handguns if it allows citizens to own other kinds of firearms, such as rifles and shotguns.

Clement's brief said that was dubious but also said the appeals court was wrong to rule that just because handguns are "arms" as defined by the Second Amendment, government cannot ban them.

"If adopted by this court, such an analysis could cast doubt on the constitutionality of existing federal legislation prohibiting the possession of certain firearms, including machineguns."

The congressional brief filed by Hutchison and others said lower-court review is unnecessary because the District's ban "is unreasonable on its face," no matter how lenient the standard of review.

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called the congressional brief "a historical message to the court" that Congress believes the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to possess firearms. A statement from the organization said it is "grateful and fortunate to have a friend of freedom in the vice president."

Staff writer Michael Abramowitz contributed to this report.