Ok, let’s assume that I am a D.C. resident, and I just got done celebrating the idea that I can now lawfully possess a handgun in my home for personal protection. I go down to the ATM, pull out a thousand bucks (I want a good one) and go handgun shopping.
I find out that there are no licensed gun dealers in D.C. No problem, I think, I will go over into Virginia or Maryland. Well, sorry, under federal law, nobody (dealer or otherwise) can sell a handgun to someone that is not a resident of his home state.
So, here I am with this wonderful individual right, guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, with no legal means to exercise it. It there any other “right” like this? Shouldn’t the Court have fashioned some remedy to actually let D.C. residents recognize this right?
What if you worked in the D.C. Gun Registration office? You could deny everyone there a handgun license on the grounds that they got their gun illegally. Not only deny the license, but slap the cuffs on them…
And I’m sure that D.C. is welcoming them with open arms, and will streamline the process of granting their business license and local firearms dealer permits. :dubious:
That’s not entirely correct. What they can’t do is a straight transaction face-to-face. If I go to Ohio I cannot buy a handgun from an Ohio dealer and walk out of the store with it. What I can do is buy the gun and have it shipped to a holder of a Federal Firearms License in the state I live in, who will then legally complete the transfer. As I speak I have a handgun purchased in this manner from a dealer in Florida in my safe upstairs.
So, the key is to find a FFL holder in DC who will do the transfer for you, consistent with local laws.
Incidentally, the overturning of the ban doesn’t mean it ceases to exist immediately. The Court gave them 3 weeks. Nothing has changed yet.
Incidentally, there is at least one person in Washington, DC with a FFL. In one of life’s great ironies, this person happens to be the head of the Violence Policy Center, Josh Sugarmann. Maybe he can help process peoples’ transfers.
I can’t find a link, but the Mayor of DC announced that via zoning laws they would absolutely prohibit any FFL holder from legally operating in the District, in effect doing an end-run around the Supreme Court. He also mentioned that they would start enforcing bans on semi-auto handguns, rifles, and shotguns, and would use “other measures” (was the quote I heard on the radio) to ensure that no new guns were brought into DC.
He’ll get smacked down for that, hard. There is ample precedent for the judicial system nailing people for end-runs like that (the 1960s-1970s school integration cases). If Fenty wants to try a de facto ban, he’s in for a world of hurt.
What I want to know is why Newsweek deliberately did not challenge the Mayor when he said this whopper:
Huh? They said since 1976, so you compare with the late 80’s to early 90’s? Since the Mayor is either a bald-faced liar or else too stupid to even be informed on such a vital issue, here are the stats: http://www.disastercenter.com/crime/dccrime.htm
1976: 188
1991: 482 (more than 2.5 times the 1976 value…note the “rate” is even higher because the population decreased)
In fact, in the 32 years since the ban was put in place, in only 5 of those years was the homicide total lower than in 1976.
The real question is, why does Newsweek hire reporters that can’t ask the hard questions? A 5-second Google told me this - does Newsweek not have internet access yet? Or could it be something else is at work here…
With respect, what world of hurt? He has the entire tax basis of Washington DC behind him. He can spend whatever the taxpayers and voters will bear on legal battles again and again and again, and he faces no personal penalties that I can possibly see, other than the incredibly slim chance of a recall election.
Judges being human, he faces the chance that the courts will order remedies to deal with his flouting the law that were more expansive than what he could have gotten away with if he had made a good-faith attempt to obey the law.
The sale of handguns became legal two days ago. You might want to give dealers a week or two to set up shop. Personally, I’ll bet it won’t take much longer than that. Washington’s a major market where gun sales have been artificially restricted. Now that the ban is lifted it’ll be a boom market.
Actually, Congress could step in and revise DC’s gun laws however they want. Constitutionally, home rule is a privilege, not a right, here in DC. But given the Democratic control of Congress (which will surely increase in this year’s elections) that is unlikely.