I outlined the process to purchase and register a handgun in DC in another thread. It requires 5 trips to DCMPD headquarters and 3 trips to the FFL. The FFL charges $125 transfer fee. DC charges a total of $60 in various fees. As best I can tell, there is only one FFL in DC that is actually willing to transfer firearms to DC residents. There is no indication that he refuses to accept transfers from most states. There are a number of gun shops in VA and MD that have refused to transfer handguns to DC, because of the legal confusion, but there are also a number that are happy to do transfers. Mark Segraves, a commentator for WTOP in DC, went through the process and had a weapon transferred from a MD gun shop to the FFL in DC, Charles Sykes.
The
DC Code is hosted on Westlaw and is current through 11/19/2009. DC's gun laws are located in:
District of Columbia Official Code 2001 Edition
Division IV. Criminal Law and Procedure and Prisoners.
Title 22. Criminal Offenses and Penalties.
Subtitle VI. Regulation and Possession of Weapons.
Chapter 45. Weapons and Possession of Weapons.
There is no carry of a handgun, concealed or open, without a license. There is no carry of a rifle or shotgun, excepted as provided by law.
Carry of a firearm is permitted in the registrant's home, while it's being used for lawful recreational purposes, while it is in the registrant's place of business, and while it is being transported. This includes rifles and shotguns.
Transportation is allowed between places the registrant is allowed to carry. In a vehicle, the firearm must be unloaded and neither the handgun nor ammo may be readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the passenger compartment, then the firearm or ammo may not be stored in the glove box or console, and must be stored in a locked container. If the firearm is being transported other than in a vehicle, then it must be unloaded, in a locked container, separate from ammo.
These provisions do not apply to a wide variety of local and federal law enforcement, military, or retired DCMPD officers.
No person shall within the District of Columbia sell any pistol to a person who he or she has reasonable cause to believe is not of sound mind, or is forbidden by § 22-4503 to possess a pistol, or, except when the relation of parent and child or guardian and ward exists, is under the age of 21 years.
After Heller, the waiting period for transfer of a firearm from seller to buyer was changed from 48 hours to 10 days.
No seller may sell without a license. DC Council members and the Mayor have indicated that they intend for no would-be gun dealers to receive a license. Handguns may not be displayed by a seller in a manner that allows them to be viewed by the public. The FFL people have used to day, post Heller, has had no firearm inventory, and has merely acted as a transfer point between gun shops outside DC and DC residents.
No person shall within the District of Columbia possess any machine gun, sawed-off shotgun, knuckles, or any instrument or weapon of the kind commonly known as a blackjack, slungshot, sand club, sandbag, switchblade knife, nor any instrument, attachment, or appliance for causing the firing of any firearm to be silent or intended to lessen or muffle the noise of the firing of any firearms; provided, however, that machine guns, or sawed-off shotgun, knuckles,s, and blackjacks may be possessed by the members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps of the United States, the National Guard, or Organized Reserves when on duty, the Post Office Department or its employees when on duty, marshals, sheriffs, prison or jail wardens, or their deputies, policemen, or other duly-appointed law enforcement officers, including any designated civilian employee of the Metropolitan Police Department, or officers or employees of the United States duly authorized to carry such weapons, banking institutions, public carriers who are engaged in the business of transporting mail, money, securities, or other valuables, wholesale dealers and retail dealers licensed under § 22-4510.
Hope this helps.
Edited to add:
The process of obtaining a handgun in DC:
- Go to DCMPD headquarters to pick up the registration packet
- Contact/go to the FFL for transfer information and to arrange for a transfer
- Go to Virginia or Maryland to purchase a handgun or purchase one on-line from a source from which the FFL will accept a transfer
- Go to the FFL to provide ID and complete the DCPD registration application form and the federal form. Pay $125 FFL transfer fee. No, you don't get your gun, yet.
- Go to police headquarters with the completed registration application form. Be fingerprinted. Pass the written test - 20 questions with no more than 5 wrong. Pay DC the $35 fingerprint fee and the $13 registration fee. 10-day waiting period begins.
- Go to police headquarters after criminal background check is complete (usually 2-3 days). Bring a notarized statement of eligibility and two passport photos. Pick up your approved registration certificate.
- Go to the FFL. Present your approved registration certificate and pick up your handgun. Must be at least 10 days after you applied for your registration.
- Go to police headquarters, IMMEDIATELY, taking your handgun for a ballistics test. Pay DC the $12 ballistics test fee. You MUST wait 1-2 hours while the police test fire your handgun.
- THEN, you can take your handgun home.