No need to register in D.C.?

[Kimber45acp]

I'm not sure there's actually even a requirement to register your gun in D.C. Why? Well I was poking around the D.C. police's website to find information about that amnesty for unregistered guns which they had to do after Heller. Well, as I'm reading I find this:

Possession of ammunition for an unregistered firearm is prohibited in the District of Columbia, and you may be subject to criminal charges.

They go out of their way to say that possession of AMMO for an unregistered firearm is illegal, but nowhere do they say the same thing for firearms. Furthermore, they TELL you to bring your unregistered gun to the Firearms Registration Section (FRS). There is no way you could legally do that unless it was legal to possess an unregistered firearm. If there was any danger of prosecution for possession of an unregistered firearm, they couldn't tell you to bring it to the "Firearms Registration Section (FRS)," and you could not legally do it without incriminating yourself if possession of an unregistered firearm by itself was illegal.

Now obviously, a gun is mostly worthless without ammo, but it appears that they quietly have no prohibition against possession of an unregistered gun.

I would still like to know what happened to the amnesty for unregistered handguns already in the district. I think it quietly continues.

This threat is legally impossible and they know it:

If you are stopped by any police agency in the District of Columbia with a firearm in your possession, you must immediately produce the registration certificate

...because they just admitted on the SAME WEBPAGE that you are allowed to transport your unregistered weapon to the "FRS." Unless you are legally prohibited from doing anything but a direct route to the "FRS," you may legally possess an unregistered weapon in D.C.

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1237,q,566975.asp

FURTHERMORE, if you click on the link "firearms eligible for registration," it says this:

In general, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and handguns MAY be registered in the District of Columbia.

I could not find a single statement anywhere on their website that says you MUST register your firearm(s). It's easy to assume otherwise, but instead of assuming, I prefer to read the language they are using. I think this is why they went out of their way to ban possession of ammo WITH you unregistered firearm.

This is a doozie because either they're admitting that you may legally possess an unregistered firearm in the District, OR they are encouraging you to commit a crime:

If, for any reason, a gun dealer has released a firearm or firearms to you before 10 days have passed or without an approved registration certificate, you must IMMEDIATELY bring the firearm(s) to FRS.

How can you take it to the "Firearms Registration Section" (FRS) without committing a crime UNLESS it's not illegal to merely possess it? Will they just be "nice" by not arresting you for having an unregistered weapon, or is it because they CAN'T legally arrest you?

Since I got all of those quotes from the "Firearm Registration:
Important Things to Remember" page, you would think they would say something like "You are legally required to register any and all firearms in your possession or you will be prosecuted."

Another interesting item that is NOT on the "important things to remember" page, is something telling people what to do if they have a firearm that cannot be registered (after all, they go to considerable effort to list every model of gun that CAN be registered). They don't tell you to destroy it or remove it from the district or even surrender it.

 

[MAKster]

D.C. law requires the registration of handguns, rifles, and shotguns. The law is the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975. Heller did not change that, it just reopened the registry for handguns.

 

[Kimber45acp]

D.C. law requires the registration of handguns, rifles, and shotguns. The law is the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975. Heller did not change that, it just reopened the registry for handguns.

I understand that that is the common ASSUMPTION.

Please respond to the arguments in my original post if you disagree. I took the time to lay out the legal situation as it appears, so I would appreciate it if you took the time to form a counter argument connected to what I said, if you disagree.

I quoted D.C.'s own gun related website and pointed out what they are and are NOT saying.

 

[chibiker]

From the website you linked to......

If you are stopped by any police agency in the District of Columbia with a firearm in your possession, you must immediately produce the registration certificate and substantiate your lawful reason for transporting the weapon. If you are transporting the weapon to or from the Firearms Registration Section (FRS) in order to register it, you may only do so during regular FRS business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm).

Guess that covers the question about getting it (your unregistered firearm) there.


As far as the verbage......

In general, rifles, shotguns, revolvers, and handguns MAY be registered in the District of Columbia.

"May" is not meant to mean it's optional, as in may or may not. May means that they can.... Can I register a handgun? Yes, you may. Can I register a bazooka? No, you may not.

I'm not sure what to tell you about your thoughts on registering not being required... I read over several sections of that website and not once in anything written was I given any reason to believe that it is not required or even optional.

Personally, I think registration is bad enough... the fact that they want you to bring your gun to them to register it is complete bull kaakaa. Why can't I just tell them the make, model and serial number? They don't need to see the gun. My license plates on my truck match all the details of said truck and I didn't have to bring it with me to get them. So if you lied or fabricated a story about the gun you are registering and you get stopped with it and the registration doesn't match the gun... guess what, busted!

 

[mgkdrgn]

Well ... just like the guys that say "the IRS is invalid and I don't have to pay no taxes" ... if you get caught with an un-registered gun in DC, I hope you look good in orange, and can pick up dropped soap with your toes.

 

[Aaron Baker]

Wow. Just wow.

I run into these sorts of legal arguments at work all the time.

I don't know why it hasn't occurred to you, but the website of the DC police is not the end-all, be-all of DC firearms laws. Amazingly enough, they actually codify their laws in written books. You can generally find these books in a law library or a website such as Westlaw (subscription required).

Why does the DC police website not mention the registration requirement? It's because it's obvious and implied by everything they discuss. If you're visiting their registration info page, it's because you already know that you need to register your gun, and you want to know how.

Yes, it's stupid to think you have to transport your weapon without the certificate in order to go register it. But since it's a one-time thing, and it'll be pretty obvious if you're on your way to register when (and IF) you get pulled over on the way, there's not really a problem. And since Heller required the amnesty, you're not really admitting to a crime by taking your gun to register it. That's what amnesty means. It means they know it was illegal, but they're forgiving you for it as long as you register it now.

Seriously though, if you take nothing else away from my post, please understand this:

Websites are not where you find codified laws, nor are websites required to contain every bit of information you could ever need. Even the DC police aren't required to make the law clear on their website. That's what the codified law is for. If you want to know whether registration is really required, why don't you look it up in an AUTHORITATIVE source?

And finally, some food for thought: if there wasn't a law on the books, why the hell would the highest court in the land have bothered to take a case on the issue?

Aaron

 

[Conqueror]

Amen.