Articles Tagged with felonies

by

black-and-white-gun-1409524-mLast year, in Palmer v. District of Columbia, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that the District of Columbia’s carrying a pistol statute was facially unconstitutional. In a lawsuit that had been pending for several years, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction. The judge enjoined the city from enforcing provisions of the D.C. Code that imposed an absolute bar on carrying pistol in the District of Columbia.

The Court also held that the Court could not categorically bar out of state residents from possessing a firearm in the District of Columbia solely on the basis that they are out of state residents. The consequences of this ruling were far reaching and the full effect of this decision has yet to be seen.

Continue reading

by

DC Gun Lawyer

A common, unfortunate scenario that often occurs in the District of Columbia because of its strict gun laws, goes something like this:

Average out-of-state, law abiding citizen with no prior criminal record travels through or to the nation’s capital. We will call him John.  John commits one of the hundreds of possible District of Columbia traffic infractions while driving.  And this traffic infraction could involve something as innocuous as hanging something from the rear view mirror or having window tint that is too dark.  One of the dozens of law enforcement agencies that has jurisdiction in the District pulls the person over.  We will call him Officer Friendly.  Officer Friendly either asks Johns: “Do you have any weapons in the vehicle” or John, accustomed to the laws of his home state, voluntarily announces to Officer Friendly that he has a firearm in the vehicle.  John then tries to show Officer Friendly his home state concealed carry permit for his lawfully registered firearm.  In John’s mind, all of this is no big deal.

Continue reading