Washington DC is Now Shall Issue!
That's right. Washington D.C. and her nearly 700,000 citizens are no longer demanded to come up with a reason why they need a firearm when applying for a permit any longer. Thanks to the decision made in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for the case Wrenn vs. District of Columbia, the citizens of our nation's capital will be able to catch up with the rest of free-America with the ability to get a concealed carry permit.
The ruling came in as a 2-to-1 decision in the court. The appeals court said that the city’s current strict permitting system was so tough to get around that it constituted a ban on firearms in violation of Second Amendment protections.
By a recent count, 77 percent of D.C. carry permit applications were denied due to applicants not having a “good enough reason” to warrant it.
But with the way most of the country works and the way that the law of the country works, the D.C. Circuit Court saw it was high time for Washington to rid itself of this discriminatory law on the books and give the people the rights they were afforded by the 2nd Amendment.
Now, while many agreed with the court's decision, in this case, there were still many who argued against it. However, there are no plans to appeal the court's decision even from the pro-gun control crowd because of the risk that the Supreme Court holds for them. If the case was appealed and sent to the highest court in the land, the justices there may rule that the same may-issue stance that occurred in D.C. for so long and continues to occur in many other states, could be flipped for the same reasons this might, putting in jeopardy the anti-gun legislation in place in California, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
So it appears that D.C. has now entered the ranks of “Shall-Issue” but the news isn't perfect for residents of the District. There is still a heap of testing a person has to go through to get a carry permit in D.C. Residents will still be required to undergo 16 hours of firearms safety training, two hours of range training, as well as training on D.C. gun law and self-defense. The District also will still not allow gun licenses or permits for people convicted of felonies and certain misdemeanors. But there is now at least a visual path forward for those citizens dedicated enough to follow it.
So even with the caveats, this is definitely a win for the pro-gun crowd. 700,000 people are now able to join our ranks and we are proud here at Concealed Carry Inc. to welcome them to the club.
What do you think of this story? Are you happy to see your Concealed Carry Reciprocity map updated in such a positive way? Let us know in the comments below.
Thank God this has moved in the right direction. Congratulations to DC. Hopefully California will follow suit soon. If a governor can be selected in California with 400,000 votes, surely 5 million California gun owners can force the political landscape to their liking.
Now all we need to do is get Cal/Mexico to do the same.
But don’t count on it. Until lug nut Brown & his fools are out of office.
Despite all the anti-gun crowd, we will now see a DECLINE in the gun crime rate in one of the country’s most dangerous cities! (Second to Chicago.)
No comment on whether DC will have reciprocity with any other state, though.
Since convicted felons, those convicted of a misdemeanor punishable by more than 365 days, and those convicted of assault and domestic abuse are presently banned from legally owning and/or possessing a firearm, all states and jurisdictions, not just DC exclude them from getting a CCW.
Also, all the states that are not “Right to Carry”; no CCW required (and in the case of Vermont, which has always had Constitutional right to carry, doesn’t offer or have a CCW) require a minimum number of hours classroom, , covering where you can and cannot carry, even with a CCW (where alcohol is sold and consumed, the post office, the court house, and most (if not all) federal, state, county, and municipal buildings, schools, etc) and range time. Most also require a minimum number of shots fired (usually between 60 and 100) using the pistol or revolver the applicant intends to carry, and require a certain percentage of hits before they will issue a CCW.
(makes sense. If you can’t hit what is threatening you, you may hit what isn’t.)
No need to make DC sound like they are being unreasonable, or have more hoops to jump, than any other “shall issue” location.