“DC will likely be required to pay all court costs and legal fees and punitive damages as well. This will probably be a couple of million dollars. “
The taxpayers will pay that. Until the officials themselves are required to pay something, or are punished in some way, they have no incentive to obey laws or decisions they don’t like.
It may be some time before an official is charged with intentionally violating gun rights. But there is a political cost to those who claim various things about their anti-gun case and then are forced to pay the other sides costs. The voters will lose patience with costly battles that have the effect of raising their taxes or denying them public services because the elected authorities fight losing battles.