One of the District's arguments was the Second Amendment only applied to STATES and since they weren't one...

The Supremes busted that balloon with Heller.

In McDonald Chicago argued that Heller did not apply to the states since the ruling only affected the District and Federal territory.

Dickwad Daley did for the citizens of Chicago (and Oak Park, who were stupid enough to believe him when he promised Chicago would pay their legal expenses if they joined Chicago in fighting McDonald) what Fuckhead Fenty did for denizens of DC.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence lobbied to have the D.C. gun laws changed so the case would not eligible to be heard by the Supreme Court. Paul Helmke, before the Court granted certiorari, pleaded with D.C. to modify its gun laws.

He understood that the collective rights theory of the Second Amendment was tenuous, at best. The foundation of most gun control arguments was that the Second Amendment only protected the States' right to arm militias. The very foundation, the most basic tenet of faith for every gun banner, has always been that the Founders never intended for the "people" to own arms. He clearly understood that by going to the Supreme Court, the District ran the risk of the court finding for an "individual right." That would drive a stake right through the heart of the most earnestly cherished notions of gun control proponents.

That his worst fears came to fruition is evident when he ruefully admitted that after the court ruled that the door had been shut, "the path to a complete ban on gun ownership is now gone."