DCist: New Proposed D.C. Handgun Rules Unveiled

[rube]

I hope they vote this Mayor and his idiots out yesterday!

July 14, 2008

New Proposed D.C. Handgun Rules Unveiled


Mayor Adrian Fenty and the D.C. Council, along with Attorney General Peter Nickles and Police Chief Cathy Lanier, announced the details of early legislation that will regulate the registration and storage of handguns in post-Heller D.C.
“We continue to take every step we can to minimize handgun violence in the District,” said Mayor Fenty. “We must prevent handguns from falling into the wrong hands or being misused, while allowing District residents to exercise their Second Amendment rights under the Heller ruling.”
Public Safety Committee Chairman Phil Mendelson released a statement saying that these proposed rules are just a first step.
“Moving forward, the Council’s open and public deliberations on this important issue will give the residents of the District of Columbia as well as subject matter experts an opportunity to weigh in and help shape our new policies," Mendelson said.
Here's what they're proposing:

* Allowing an exception for handgun ownership for self-defense use inside the home.
* If you want to keep a handgun in your home, the MPD will have to perform ballistic testing on it before it can be legally registered.
* There will be a limit to one handgun per person for the first 90 days after the legislation becomes law.
* Firearms in the home must be stored unloaded and disassembled, and secured with either a trigger lock, gun safe, or similar device. The new law will allow an exception for a firearm while it is being used against an intruder in the home.
* Residents who legally register handguns in the District will not be required to have licenses to carry them inside their own homes.

More from the press release on Chief Lanier's proposed rules for how D.C. residents must go about registering handguns below the jump.

Registration procedures for a handgun purchased for self-defense in a District residence: 1. A District resident who seeks to register a handgun must obtain an application form from MPD’s Firearms Registration Section and take it to a firearms dealer for assistance in completing it.

2. The applicant must submit photos, proof of residency and proof of good vision (such as a driver’s license or doctor’s letter), and pass a written firearms test.

3. If the applicant is successful on the test, s(he) must pay registration fees and submit to fingerprinting. MPD will file one set of fingerprints and submit the other to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for analysis and criminal background check.

4. MPD will notify the applicant whether all registration requirements are satisfied. At that point, the applicant returns to the Firearms Registration Section to complete the process and receive MPD’s seal on the application.

5. The applicant takes his or her completed application to a licensed firearm dealer to take delivery of the pistol. If the dealer is outside the District, the dealer transports the pistol to a licensed dealer in the District to complete the transaction.

6. The applicant takes the pistol to the Firearms Registration Section for ballistics testing. When testing is complete, the applicant may retrieve the pistol and take it home.

Registration procedures for a handgun legally registered in another jurisdiction, or a handgun possessed in the District but not registered:

1. Applicants bringing a firearm from another jurisdiction into the District must transport it immediately to the Firearms Registration Section, or notify the Section that they will do so within 48 hours.

2. MPD will allow the registration of previously possessed handguns other than those that qualify as “machine guns” under District law (that is, all automatics and most semiautomatic pistols) for the next six months. During that period, the Office of the Attorney General has established an Amnesty policy not to prosecute anyone for unregistered possession of such a handgun when it is brought to MPD for registration, although those who have committed other crimes with firearms of course remain subject to prosecution.

3. Regulations for registering handguns in either of these two scenarios are similar to those for newly-purchased handguns, but do not require the assistance of a licensed firearms dealer.

Rules for transporting firearms legally within the District:

1. When the law allows transporting a firearm legally, the owner must transport it unloaded and securely wrapped in a package, with the package visible in plain view.

Provisions for becoming a licensed firearms dealer in the District:

1. Firearms dealers must first be licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

2. Potential firearms dealers must be eligible to register guns in the District and eligible under federal law to sell them.

3. Firearms dealer licenses will be valid for one year.

4. Applications for dealer licenses will include a sworn or affirmed statement by the applicant, and may require photographs and fingerprints.

5. Firearms dealers must also comply with other District licensing and zoning requirements, such as having a Basic Business License and certificate of occupancy.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Miggy]

* Firearms in the home must be stored unloaded and disassembled, and secured with either a trigger lock, gun safe, or similar device. The new law will allow an exception for a firearm while it is being used against an intruder in the home.

Wasn't this addressed already by SCOTUS and found unacceptable?

[msgt/ret]

* Firearms in the home must be stored unloaded and disassembled, and secured with either a trigger lock, gun safe, or similar device. The new law will allow an exception for a firearm while it is being used against an intruder in the home.

Homeowner to criminal "Give me a few minutes to get and unlock my firearm so I can use it to defend myself".

Sounds like the ruling authority of DC did not read or understand the verdict. Seems they want so many hoops to jump through people will just give up and remain defenseless.

[ExactlyMyPoint]

Arrogant, self-righteous, morons.

[762]

well, they made it "legal", but almost impossible to complete this laundry list. this is designed to add as much red tape as possible where D.C residents sign and just give up...

[NKMG19]

You get what you vote for. Maybe many in DC just don't care about guns or their 2A rights. If I lived in a state in which the majority voted in anti-gun folks then that would be a signal for me to leave such state.

I bet many of these lawmakers have personal armed security paid for by the taxpayers.

[bluelineman]

* Residents who legally register handguns in the District will not be required to have licenses to carry them inside their own homes.

Wow. They're so thoughtful to the residents of DC.

[JonInNY]

I'm not sure these rules would stand the test of the courts. I may take a long time, but if DC tries to enact this, a whole string of new lawsuits will be filed. I agree with the OP; we need to effect change with votes!

[sniper58]

One must first "tard" before one is allowed to "retard."

[SIGguy229]

I'm still wondering how much they will charge as a registration fee....funny how that hasn't been decided yet. Considering the number of registered guns in D.C. that cannot be "found" (like MCPD needs to know this)...and the fact that the previous registration scheme was paper-based...gee, I wonder who is going to pay for the new system (that doesn't work).

[Stetson]

I am glad I don't live there !

[ExactlyMyPoint]

I'm still wondering how much they will charge as a registration fee.

OK, here is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

You have a RIGHT to vote and it has been struck down by the Supreme Court that you cannot charge a poll tax to vote. Charging a poll tax places an undue burden on those who cannot pay it. Well, if you (now) have a RIGHT to a firearm, then you should not be able to charge a registration fee to keep it in your house, as that would place an undue burden on those who cannot pay it.

Naaaaaa. That would be thrown out in a heartbeat.

[ccw9mm]

* Firearms in the home must be stored unloaded and disassembled, and secured with either a trigger lock, gun safe, or similar device. The new law will allow an exception for a firearm while it is being used against an intruder in the home.

And to think these dangerous dolts have parents who love and respect them.

They seem to prefer DC residents be dead or dying, instead of able to protect themselves against crime.

They absolutely deem DC residents helpless targets outside their own front doors, hence the shackles.

[chuck brick]

You get what you vote for. Maybe many in DC just don't care about guns or their 2A rights. If I lived in a state in which the majority voted in anti-gun folks then that would be a signal for me to leave such state.

I bet many of these lawmakers have personal armed security paid for by the taxpayers.

Same can be said of the nation as a whole. As I've heard it said, every people is ultimately responsible for the government they end up with. Scary, huh?
Vote carefully.

As to the personal security, I'm sure Oprah, O'Donnell, and most if not all the other rabid control freaks have bodyguards - all, of course, using their own privately owned guns for employment.
The height of hypocrasy, and too arrogantly ignorant to realise.

Stay safe,

Chuck Brick.

[Ram Rod]

Just figured I'd add this instead of starting a new thread.
National News - DC residents can start applying for gun permits

WASHINGTON — Police in the District of Columbia are set to begin registering residents for handguns Thursday now that the district's 32-year-old ban has been lifted.

Besides obtaining paperwork to buy new handguns, residents also can register firearms they've had illegally under a 180-day amnesty period.

It comes after the District of Columbia Council approved new firearms legislation Tuesday and as officials try to comply with last month's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down the city's ban on handguns.

Though residents will be allowed to begin applying for handgun permits, city officials have said the entire process could take weeks or months.

Just what do they mean to say concerning "those citizens who've had firearms illegally"? Besides---isn't it illegal for cities and states to "register" firearms and keep records? Does the DC actually expect folks to comply with this?