Thursday, July 17, 2008

D.C. Continues to Violate 2nd Amendment

The elected leaders of D.C. don’t seem to understand the whole “shall not be infringed” thing. 

But Heller and his lawyer angrily criticized the city over other aspects of the handgun ownership and registration process, outlined in emergency legislation that was approved this week by the D.C. Council and Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).

The new law includes strict storage requirements that opponents of the handgun ban say violate the Supreme Court ruling. Gun owners must keep their pistols at home, unloaded and either disassembled or equipped with trigger locks. Weapons can only be loaded and used if the owner reasonably believes he or she is in imminent danger from an attacker in the home.

The city also has continued to ban most clip-loaded, semi-automatic handguns—popular with gun enthusiasts—by including those weapons in its broadly written ban on machine guns, which was not at issue in the Supreme Court ruling. For Heller, Newsham said, that means his Colt .45 cannot be registered.

“It appears that the city does not yet understand the decision and order of the Supreme Court,” said Heller, a 66-year-old a security guard.

[...]

However, because under federal law buyers can purchase handguns only in the states or districts where they live, District residents cannot legally purchase firearms until a licensed firearms dealer sets up shop in the city. D.C. officials said one prospective dealer is in the process of getting a license in the city, and eventually others probably will do the same.

[...]

To begin the registration process, the applicant must bring his or her revolver, unloaded and in a container, to the firearms registration office at police headquarters, 300 Indiana Ave. NW. The applicant must also bring two passport-sized photos, proof of D.C. residency, and a valid D.C. driver’s license or a letter from a physician attesting that the applicant’s vision is at least as good as that required for the license.

An applicant must fill out registration forms, submit fingerprints and pass a written firearm-proficiency test, while police ballistics experts test-fire the revolver. The revolver will then be returned to the owner, but he or she cannot legally use the weapon, even for self-defense, until notified that the registration has been approved.

Before approving a registration, police will conduct a background check of the applicant. There are several disqualifying factors, including a felony conviction or a history of mental illness. Ballistics examiners will compare the test-fired bullets to bullets from unsolved shootings to determine if a revolver was used in a crime.

It is unclear how long it normally will take for police to approve a registration application.

Newsham said if anyone shows up to register a semi-automatic pistol that fits the city’s definition of a machine gun, police will confiscate the illegal gun but will not immediately arrest the owner. He said police reserve the right to investigate and eventually charge such an owner with violating the machine-gun ban.

These are not “reasonable” regulations.  These are oppressive regulations intended to skirt the decision of the Supreme Court.  They are also outright moronic in classifying semi-automatic guns as “machine guns.” 

I’m sure that more lawsuits will ensue for which the taxpayers can pay to defend.

(2) Comments
Posted by Owen at 1711 hrs
Firearms + Law + Politics + Politics - General

  1. I agree that this goes beyond reasonable regulation.

    I don’t know why they stopped at unloaded, disassembled, and with trigger locks.  They could have kept going… inside a safe, wrapped in bubble wrap, on a shelf at least 6 feet off the floor, with ammo at least 20 feet away, etc., etc.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 17, 2008 at 1724 hrs


  2. And to belabor the obvious ignorance of the MSM—there are no semiauto handguns which are “clip”-loaded.

    Posted by dad29 on July 17, 2008 at 2011 hrs


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