MatthewVanitas
Member
I've lived in a number of states and countries, and almost all the US states I've lived in (except California) were really easy firearms-wise. I moved up to the DC area for a job several year ago, and a couple years back moved across the river from Arlington into DC proper. I'd meant for a while to move just a couple guns into my place in DC, but the paperwork looked like a hassle, the logistics (especially without a car) annoying, and I was sure to miss at least half a day of work doing it since the DC Firearms Registration office is only open M-F 9am-5pm.
Bear in mind, DC is a "state" that until 2008 basically didn't allow anyone to move firearms into the district (allowing only guns registered in DC in the 1970s). When 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller forced them to allow guns, they dragged their feet, particularly with their bizarre rule that any semi-auto firearm conceivably capable of holding 10+ rounds (even if no such mag had ever been produced for it) was a "machine gun", so for a while they were only registering derringers, revolvers, and the like. The law has gotten progressively looser in the last several years.
I'm changing jobs and taking a break between, so with my days more free decided to finally take the plunge. I was pleased to find that even in just the last year a lot of the requirements and fees had fallen away (higher per-gun fees, mandatory training, bring your own photos, etc) so ultimately the only cost I had was $13 per gun and $35 for fingerprinting. A few years ago, a Washington Post journalist did the whole endeavor, including buying a Taurus revolver through DC's only FFL, and revolver retail cost excluded had to pay about $500 total in mandatory training at a VA range, per-gun fees, registration costs, and $125 for the DC FFL transfer. So it is way cheaper than before.
It thought folks here might like to hear how the process goes these days.
- I went to the downtown Metro Police Department office just to touch base, picked up the forms (though they'll also mail them) and told them what firearms I'd be bringing in.
- I thought in the past that logistically it would be this terrible puzzle of moving my guns from deeper in VA up to a friend's house just on the VA side of the river, going to his house in a rental car in the early AM to get the guns before he leaves for work, and then driving into DC. Turns out instead you can have the guns in DC as much as 48hrs prior to visiting the PD, so I just got a ride from a friend over the weekend and picked up two of my guns and held them until Monday.
- After calling ahead to make sure that "locked container" doesn't mandate "hard-sided", I chucked my 20ga coach gun and CZ 9mm, wrapped in towels, into an old military seabag with a combination lock on it, and set off on adventure. I'll just note that Metro PD specifically tells folks that they can take the subway with their locked guns and no ammo (even listing on their website what the closest subway station to the PD is), though I'm not totally comfortable about how the Transit Police feel about that... Though given how small DC is, even just walking across town isn't bad for most folks.
- I felt a little self-conscious with the bag slung over my shoulder, so for some "hidden in plain sight", I carried my little ukulele with me. Figuring it made me look non-sketchy and would lead folks to presume the seabag had music gear.
- Showed up at the one downtown police station where they do firearms registration, had some slight awkwardness figuring out how best to tell the entry guards that I was about to send a seabag full of guns through the x-ray machine. A guard received the seabag and carried it up to the Firearms office alongside me.
- The process at the office took about two hours, largely because only one guy was on duty. I brought a copy of the registration form for each gun, the "I'm not a felon/wifebeater/drunk" form, DC driver's license, and a copy of my DD214 to prove military firearms training. I had to take an 18-question test on DC gun law, missed one, but otherwise quite easy (and open-book). Went next door to get digitally fingerprinted, paying $61, the only financial cost in the process.
This would've taken probably under an hour if they'd had more staff on-hand, but the other time-taking feature was about my shotgun. In fairness, I was a little saucy here, and had brought in a 1960s Stevens double-barrel shotgun, which some unknown previous owner had cut down to 18.5" and trimmed the buttstock back (replacing and shaping the buttplate after) down to 29" overall. I'd carefully read the DC law to make sure this was kosher, but the one officer had to call in a second opinion, and the second guy was not pleased about this. This ended up being the single biggest hassle in the process, with a lot of questions that I honestly didn't find pertinent, so I was very careful to stay pleasant and smiley but confident.
Cop: Hmmm, we can't allow this shotgun. It's been shortened below its original length.
Me: That is correct, but it is still over 18"/28" and has a shoulder-firing buttstock.
Cop: True, but look how short this stock is, it's clearly made to be fired by hand (demonstrates holding shotgun out pistol-style).
Me: It is short, but it's certainly shoulderable. It might be a bit short for you, but I'm a small guy and it fits me.
Cop: You're seriously telling me you fire this from the shoulder?
Me: Yep.
Cop: Must pack quite a wallop.
Me: Yep. But when you think about it, any shotgun could be fired from the hand instead of the shoulder, if you just move your arm.
Cop: I dunno, I just think this won't do, it's been deliberately modified to be short. Did you make this modification? Where and when did you get it?
Me: It was like that when I bought it at a pawnshop FFL in Texas maybe seven years ago.
Cop: Do you still have the paperwork from that FFL?
Me: I don't believe I do.
Cop: Hmmmm, why is there this splintered part down by the pad?
Me: It got chipped a little when it was in storage.
Cop: Okay... See, the problem isn't with you, it's that if this gets stolen and ends up on the streets.
Me: In fairness, if someone goes and steals that, they're likely gonna cut it a lot shorter than that.
Cop: They might, they might. Umm, how safe is your neighborhood?
Me: [my place is at the juncture of several neighborhoods, so I picked the most yuppie-sounding name of the lot to reassure him]
Cop: Hmmmm... Well, I'm gonna go ahead and allow this, have a good day. Just make sure you let MPD know immediately if it gets stolen.
I thought it a pretty odd exchange, but in the end it worked out, and they issued me two hard-laminated cards with my photo and address on one side, each firearm's details on the back, one for my CZ and one for my shotgun. Took them back to my place and now I'm all good to go, with an automatic online renewal required three years from now, and need to request new cards if I change addresses.
That'd it in a nutshell, thought folks might find the saga interesting.
Bear in mind, DC is a "state" that until 2008 basically didn't allow anyone to move firearms into the district (allowing only guns registered in DC in the 1970s). When 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller forced them to allow guns, they dragged their feet, particularly with their bizarre rule that any semi-auto firearm conceivably capable of holding 10+ rounds (even if no such mag had ever been produced for it) was a "machine gun", so for a while they were only registering derringers, revolvers, and the like. The law has gotten progressively looser in the last several years.
I'm changing jobs and taking a break between, so with my days more free decided to finally take the plunge. I was pleased to find that even in just the last year a lot of the requirements and fees had fallen away (higher per-gun fees, mandatory training, bring your own photos, etc) so ultimately the only cost I had was $13 per gun and $35 for fingerprinting. A few years ago, a Washington Post journalist did the whole endeavor, including buying a Taurus revolver through DC's only FFL, and revolver retail cost excluded had to pay about $500 total in mandatory training at a VA range, per-gun fees, registration costs, and $125 for the DC FFL transfer. So it is way cheaper than before.
It thought folks here might like to hear how the process goes these days.
- I went to the downtown Metro Police Department office just to touch base, picked up the forms (though they'll also mail them) and told them what firearms I'd be bringing in.
- I thought in the past that logistically it would be this terrible puzzle of moving my guns from deeper in VA up to a friend's house just on the VA side of the river, going to his house in a rental car in the early AM to get the guns before he leaves for work, and then driving into DC. Turns out instead you can have the guns in DC as much as 48hrs prior to visiting the PD, so I just got a ride from a friend over the weekend and picked up two of my guns and held them until Monday.
- After calling ahead to make sure that "locked container" doesn't mandate "hard-sided", I chucked my 20ga coach gun and CZ 9mm, wrapped in towels, into an old military seabag with a combination lock on it, and set off on adventure. I'll just note that Metro PD specifically tells folks that they can take the subway with their locked guns and no ammo (even listing on their website what the closest subway station to the PD is), though I'm not totally comfortable about how the Transit Police feel about that... Though given how small DC is, even just walking across town isn't bad for most folks.
- I felt a little self-conscious with the bag slung over my shoulder, so for some "hidden in plain sight", I carried my little ukulele with me. Figuring it made me look non-sketchy and would lead folks to presume the seabag had music gear.
- Showed up at the one downtown police station where they do firearms registration, had some slight awkwardness figuring out how best to tell the entry guards that I was about to send a seabag full of guns through the x-ray machine. A guard received the seabag and carried it up to the Firearms office alongside me.
- The process at the office took about two hours, largely because only one guy was on duty. I brought a copy of the registration form for each gun, the "I'm not a felon/wifebeater/drunk" form, DC driver's license, and a copy of my DD214 to prove military firearms training. I had to take an 18-question test on DC gun law, missed one, but otherwise quite easy (and open-book). Went next door to get digitally fingerprinted, paying $61, the only financial cost in the process.
This would've taken probably under an hour if they'd had more staff on-hand, but the other time-taking feature was about my shotgun. In fairness, I was a little saucy here, and had brought in a 1960s Stevens double-barrel shotgun, which some unknown previous owner had cut down to 18.5" and trimmed the buttstock back (replacing and shaping the buttplate after) down to 29" overall. I'd carefully read the DC law to make sure this was kosher, but the one officer had to call in a second opinion, and the second guy was not pleased about this. This ended up being the single biggest hassle in the process, with a lot of questions that I honestly didn't find pertinent, so I was very careful to stay pleasant and smiley but confident.
Cop: Hmmm, we can't allow this shotgun. It's been shortened below its original length.
Me: That is correct, but it is still over 18"/28" and has a shoulder-firing buttstock.
Cop: True, but look how short this stock is, it's clearly made to be fired by hand (demonstrates holding shotgun out pistol-style).
Me: It is short, but it's certainly shoulderable. It might be a bit short for you, but I'm a small guy and it fits me.
Cop: You're seriously telling me you fire this from the shoulder?
Me: Yep.
Cop: Must pack quite a wallop.
Me: Yep. But when you think about it, any shotgun could be fired from the hand instead of the shoulder, if you just move your arm.
Cop: I dunno, I just think this won't do, it's been deliberately modified to be short. Did you make this modification? Where and when did you get it?
Me: It was like that when I bought it at a pawnshop FFL in Texas maybe seven years ago.
Cop: Do you still have the paperwork from that FFL?
Me: I don't believe I do.
Cop: Hmmmm, why is there this splintered part down by the pad?
Me: It got chipped a little when it was in storage.
Cop: Okay... See, the problem isn't with you, it's that if this gets stolen and ends up on the streets.
Me: In fairness, if someone goes and steals that, they're likely gonna cut it a lot shorter than that.
Cop: They might, they might. Umm, how safe is your neighborhood?
Me: [my place is at the juncture of several neighborhoods, so I picked the most yuppie-sounding name of the lot to reassure him]
Cop: Hmmmm... Well, I'm gonna go ahead and allow this, have a good day. Just make sure you let MPD know immediately if it gets stolen.
I thought it a pretty odd exchange, but in the end it worked out, and they issued me two hard-laminated cards with my photo and address on one side, each firearm's details on the back, one for my CZ and one for my shotgun. Took them back to my place and now I'm all good to go, with an automatic online renewal required three years from now, and need to request new cards if I change addresses.
That'd it in a nutshell, thought folks might find the saga interesting.
