|
One has to wonder if DC even recognizes FOPA. Any gun, gun part, ammunition, or ammunition part is considered a "firearm" in D.C. (and this includes expended brass and shotgun shells)--its reaction to the Heller slap down. Even if you are a licensed gun owner, if you happen to have ammo that is not of the same caliber as the registered gun is a felony. There is (was a recent case of a man who had his home raided by SWAT on a complaint of his ex-wife that he had a gun. He was licensed to have a handgun in DC--but they found a casing from a rifle that he owns and keeps outside of DC. Yes, he was charged with a felony, and they even took a fully legal antique firearm that he had at his home. Soldiers passing through have been arrested. So even with FOPA, you are running a risk having a firearm anywhere near you in DC--or in NYC for that matter, without a specific license.
There is a case challenging this law, Palmer v. D.C., but that case has been intentionally stalled by the federal district court for the last five years. Motions for summary judgment were filed and argued, then the judge sat on them so long he was replaced. A replacement judge reheard argument and allowed supplemental briefing-and he too has sat on them--and the Court of Appeals has declined to "encourage" him to rule or to replace him. DC has a total ban--a law that both the Seventh and the Ninth Circuits have said is impermissible. But I doubt we will see any sort of decision until the Supreme Court takes on the issue and finds a right to bear arms outside the home.
|