The Washington, D.C. concealed carry permitting process is done on a may issue basis, requiring 18 hours of training, a $110 application fee and “proof” that you have a “need” to carry a firearm in the nation’s capitol. “Needs” include facing a personal threat, handling large amounts of cash, or having a disabled relative who needs defending. And you can’t carry in parks, on public transportation, in schools or government buildings, or in protests around the White House or Capitol Hill, and you have to stay 1000 feet away from government officials or foreign dignitaries. Oh, and until recently, there was only one guy in the entire city who was certified to give you the 18 hours of training, though the city has since certified a few more. But things are finally starting to change, however incrementally . . .
From foxnews.com:
The District of Columbia has issued its first concealed handgun carry permits. As of January 26, there are eight civilians who can legally carry a firearm in the nation’s capital. Currently, more permit applicants have been denied than approved.
“We’ve had 69 applications, of which three were canceled at the request of the applicant,” Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump said. “So far eight licenses have been approved and issued.”
The D.C. city council hasn’t hid their opposition to civilian gun ownership, much less lawful concealed carry and has made it clear that they would deny any application on even the flimsiest of excuses. I somehow doubt the current law will stand up to the inevitable court challenges that are coming. Still, baby steps.
May Issue is their way of changing very little.
Any time they give discretion of approving applications to someone who has openly stated they didn’t even want the application process at all, it’s a sure bet that only the bare minimum will be allowed. I imagine some 90% of applicants will be denied sparking a new lawsuit and potentially shall issue.
Change very little you say?
Why I heard the murder rate just went up a billion percent. Blood in the streets, I tell ya! Blood in the streets!
Stay 1000 feet away from government officials or foreign dignitaries? Does that include mail carriers and city bus drivers?
Well it would be hard to use public transportation legally if you couldn’t be on the bus with a driver.
Makes no difference – WMATA (Metro Rail and Bus) prohibits weapons of all kinds on their trains and busses.
Unless you are a criminal 🙂
Not true. Virginia does not consider public transit a prohibited location so you are not violating any law unless it is posted as such. WMATA does not have independent law making authority. They go by the laws of the jurisdiction they are operating in.
What it really means is that since you can never know when you are within 1000′ of a government employee, you can’t carry at all. I mean, they are like EVERYWHERE! And unless there is some sort of exception, you can’t carry your firearm when driving around any of the major streets that have governmental offices. I also have to wonder what authority the City has to ban carry in or near FEDERAL property–wouldn’t that be an issue of federal law?
I believe you mean can’t carry in parks, public transportation, government buildings and schools.
Seems like a big typo the author may want to fix…
Yeah. If the writers for this blog can’t proof their own material, maybe they should hire someone to do it.
Is the mail address bug fixed?
How could you hope to protest while carrying and maintain that 1000 foot buffer. More to the point, how do you legally carry in DC and not continuously find yourself violating that rule?
Ding ding ding^^^ I think you’re on to something. 😀 (I’m sure you knew that you were).
How’s that currently popular description go? “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature?”
Only the heart of DC has government buildings. So that means you can only carry on the outer outskirts bordering Maryland and Virginia. So Anacostia, Georgetown, etc are fair game. That’s how I interpret this rule.
And what if your next door neighbor, or the guy that lives down the street from you is a government employee? Now you can’t even carry in your own home!
DC needs to pay several million $ judgements. THEN they might decide to understand Heller.
True, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could get a million $$ judgement against one or two of those actual councilmen, rather than the city.
Well, Congress sets DC rules, so Congress can rule the Council is liable personally if they violate a Constitutional Right…
And the Right have a headlock on Congress…
🙂
It’s taxpayer money; I doubt the D.C government will ever give a rats ass how much of it they spend in furtherance of suppressing Second Amendment protections, lawsuits and all.
In addition, these pols will never even try to understand Heller. They will simply dig in their heels and resist any implementation of the court’s orders regarding 2A Constitutional protections they disdain until they are legally dragged kicking and screaming, inch by inch, into compliance.
Even then it won’t change much. See Chicago.
“DC needs to pay several million $ judgements. THEN they might decide to understand Heller.”
Are you joking?
DC has plenty of money. They can get all they need from Obama’s stash…
(A reference to the voter filmed commenting on money “from Obama’s stash”)
” And you can carry in parks, on public transportation, in schools or government buildings, or in protests around the White House or Capitol Hill, and you have to stay 1000 feet away from government officials or foreign dignitaries.”
Is that right or should there be an apostrophe-t on that third word?
Still waiting for a ruling on Gura’s contempt of court motion…
Wow, it went from literally impossible to CC in D.C. to only metaphorically impossible. Baby steps, I guess…
No…. I’d still say that it is impossible to be anywhere in the city proper that is more than 1,000 feet away from the office of a government official. Would love to see a map with 1,000 foot circles around every government office. I’d be pretty confident there there would be no open space.
This is a joke.
You obviously don’t live in DC. Quite a bit of the city would be legal if you get the permit.
DC and its city “government” are a joke. It makes East Berlin look like ancient Athens.
How can it be even REMOTELY Constitutional to have a law that makes you a criminal through no action of your own.
Say I’m in DC with a CCW permit… minding my own business sitting on a bench somewhere. A “government official” or “foreign dignitary” drives by, unbeknownst to me, within 1000 feet while I continue to sit there minding my own business, but now I’ve committed a crime.
That sounds like something any judge (assuming they have intelligence) would throw out immediately.
Well, the stupidity of the “not within 1000 ft of a school” is still there, although I don’t think anyone tries to enforce it. Not just some, but most US cities are impossible to drive through, regardless of route, under that law, yet it is still there, and still bragged about (“saving the children every day”) by the idiots.
The thing is, at least schools don’t typically move around randomly during the day.
Students on school field trips wander all over the place…
There you are, at a museum, minding your own business…
The few CC laws with which I have familiarity exempt CCWs from the 1000′ limit. For some (e.g. California) the exemption applies to school property unless the issuing agency (sheriff) adds a special restriction. Others prohibit carry on the actual campus but not otherwise.
Bout damn time they realize the second amendment is actually part of the constitution.
Uh, Frank, what they are doing hardly counts as realizing that the 2nd Amendment is part of the U.S. Constitution.
I hate to say this, but if the 2A was the only part of the Constitution that politicians ignored, we’d be much better off as a country
8 licenses out of almost 80? How magnanimous of them.
*barf*
“D.C. Issues First Concealed Carry Permits”
All eight of them, huh? Should I be impressed or something?
That’s 8 more than New Jersey, so there’s that…
Touché!
Thank god I don’t live in that cesspool.
Things are more normal in the burbs: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/courts/circuit/sp-248.htm
These are not “baby steps”. Here is what is “allowed” so far:
How old does an applicant have to be in order to apply for a D.C. concealed carry permit?
An applicant must be at least 21 years old
Does a NON-RESIDENT applicant have to currently possess an out-of-state concealed carry permit? Yes.
After having a D.C. concealed carry permit for 2 years, how many hours is the renewal class?
The classroom renewal course is only 4 hours, which–by default–includes education on D.C.-specific self-defense laws
How long will a D.C. concealed carry permit be valid once it’s issued?
Two years
Are there places an applicant cannot take a firearm even after receiving a D.C. concealed carry permit?
Currently, there are 16 places that are considered “sensitive.”
Does an applicant have to learn about D.C.-specific laws regarding self-defense PRIOR to being issued a D.C. concealed carry permit?
Yes. An applicant MUST either take our 16-hour firearms training course OR a 2-hour course on D.C.-specific self-defense laws.
How many rounds does an applicant shoot during the range qualification course?
Fifty rounds
Is there a limit to how much ammunition a person with a D.C. concealed carry permit can CARRY at one time?
Yes. You can only carry an amount of ammunition THAT RENDERS THE FIREARM FULLY LOADED or up to a maximum of 10 rounds.
If a NON-RESIDENT already has ANY out-of-state permit, will it be necessary to submit a copy of it with the concealed carry application?
Yes. One of the requirements for NON-RESIDENTS of Washington, D.C. is to submit a copy of a current concealed carry permit.
What is the highest capacity magazine a person can POSSESS while in Washington, D.C.?
A magazine cannot hold more than 10 rounds.
11+ rounds need not apply
“How many rounds does an applicant shoot during the range qualification course?
Fifty rounds
Is there a limit to how much ammunition a person with a D.C. concealed carry permit can CARRY at one time?
Yes. You can only carry an amount of ammunition THAT RENDERS THE FIREARM FULLY LOADED or up to a maximum of 10 rounds. ”
UUUhhh, … So how can you get your 50 rounds to the “training” course? Do you have to make 5 trips?
So after 10k applications 50 permits will be issued. To ex politicians and people who know the right people.
To lobbyists. Rich lobbyists. Rich Democratic lobbyists. Rich Democratic lobbyist City Council campaign contributors.
Of course, they are the ones carrying large amounts of cash.
Did Kathy Lanier wet her Depends?
Ray
No. Her armed bodyguards did.
Based on the District’s total population, 0.00001% is now licensed to carry, concealed only. License costs $110, plus fingerprinting cost, plus training cost, plus ammunition cost for training, plus lost wages due to time off for training.
Based on Pennsylvania’s total population, 6.32% is licensed to carry, concealed. Open carry requires no license (except in Philadelphia). License costs $20. No fingerprinting, no training.
California is roughly $150 for the app (includes fingerprints), plus $150 for the shrink if the IA requires a psych eval (most don’t), plus $160 or so for the class, plus 100 rounds, plus 16 hours of your life. For a while (though it is still a an absolutely no issue county), SF required all of the above, plus range qualification at the SFPD range, and paying for the time of the range master. When all ways said and done, their (illegal) fees totalled over $1000.
“Open carry requires no license (except in Philadelphia).”
Philly gets so many exceptions because it’s the only “city of the first class.” In exchange for widespread self-rule, we should prevent Philadelphians from influencing statewide politics. You want your own fiefdom? Fine. But don’t drag us down with you.
So how long until some judge decides they are tired of this shit and makes a massive ruling against these clowns that goes WAY beyond what they would expect and gives them 0 room to get out of it?
“you have to stay 1000 feet away from government officials or foreign dignitaries. ”
How the hell is anyone supposed to know if someone is a “foreign dignitary?”
One would assume these people would not want to be that recognizable when out in public.
It would be interesting to see who those 8 are connected to politically. I have seriously doubt a regular old taxpayer would granted a permit.
Must be the ones who are surrounded by body guards with flags on their lapels and a hearing aid stuck in their ear.
I guess you have to profile to guess whose foreign and then look for the sash on the dignitary.
Dignitaries always wear identifying sashes don’t they.
OOPs, isn’t that illegal too?
This is MUCH WORSE than Chicago Jus Bill. And there’s way more than 8 CC’ers. We don’thave all the federal gubmint here to make it impossible to carry-just really difficult. Oh well…
Wouldn’t you like to know who the 8 people are and exactly how they got their permit?
My bet is politically connected in a common trend
Hmmm…in Chicago the alderman have always been able to carry. Because they are “special”…
Well, isn’t this just a crock of crap. The District of Columbia is federal territory, where the Con situation is supposed to be supreme and looky here…your right, god or self given, is reduced to a flippin permission slip.
This is a not a good look for us all.
Yes, I am sure that all my bro’s, like Jamar, Demetrion, Mychal, Antwaun, Reco, Aquire and Akeeme will patiently wait to get their permits.
18 hours training? So it’s going to cost me what? A small fortune?? For anyone who isn’t wealthy, that’s quite a requirement.
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