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Following a ruling by the U.S. District Court that overturned D.C.’s long-time ban on carrying firearms in public, Mayor Vince Gray signed emergency legislation last night, the “License to Carry a Pistol Emergency Amendment Act of 2014.

The law, which was passed by the D.C. Council and drafted in response to the decision in Palmer v. District of Columbia that ruled the city’s gun laws are unconstitutional, gives Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier the ability to approve and deny applications for a concealed carry license. According to the legislation, appeals will be heard by a five-member board.

Those seeking to apply for a license to carry a gun need to prove they have a “legitimate need” to do so, which includes “a good reason to fear injury to his or her person, which shall at a minimum require a showing of a special need for self-protection distinguishable from the general community as supported by evidence of specific threats or previous attacks.” Additionally, applicants can’t be suffering, or have suffered, from a mental illness or condition in the past five years and undergo 18 hours of range and classroom training.

In a joint statement, Lanier and Attorney General Irv Nathan said that “the law cures the alleged constitutional flaws in the District’s licensing laws found by a U.S. District Court in the Palmer case.”

Both Lanier and Nathan emphasized that, per the summary judgement ruling that was stayed until October 22, carrying a gun in public remains a criminal offense until then. After that date, “members of the public who meet the statute’s criteria will be able to apply for a license to carry a pistol in the District.”

Meanwhile, pro-gun advocates aren’t happy with the law and recently filed a motion to stop the law from passing.