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D.C.’s police chief expects to issue concealed carry permits after the application process opens later this month, despite concerns from Second Amendment advocates that the law is too restrictive.
At a Council hearing on the License to Carry a Pistol Amendment Act, created in response to a court ruling that found D.C.’s ban on carrying handguns in public to be unconstitutional, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier suggested three changes to the law as written.
Lanier wants the bill to limit the concealed carry of handguns on the grounds and in the parking areas of government buildings, and doesn’t want taxi drivers to be able to carry while transporting passengers. The bill currently prohibits carrying handguns in certain buildings, like schools and bars, and on public transportation.
Much more complicated is the limiting of carrying near motorcades and the process through which people with permits should be notified.
“Licensees will be required to know about law,” Lanier said, adding that pedestrian movement and traffic is limited when motorcades are going through an area. “It’s a very visible shutdown.”
Lanier said that police should not have to notify a person with a concealed carry permit verbally that they cannot carry near motorcades or well-publicized events that prohibit guns. “Event organizers should not have to hire police officers to say guns are prohibited,” she said.
The question of licensing people with mental illnesses was also a sticking point.
In addition to searching national and local databases, Arthur Parker from the Office of the Attorney General said the city will rely on self-disclosure to discover mental illnesses that would prohibit concealed carry.
“I wish i could tell you there’s some guarantee, but there’s not,” Lanier told Councilmember Yvette Alexander of keeping guns out of the hands of people with a dangerous mental illness.
Under the bill, applicants will have to prove they have a “legitimate need” to carry a handgun in public. This would not include living in a neighborhood where crime is common, but being the victim of stalking would be a legitimate reason, according to officials.
Second Amendment advocates who testified before the Council objected to this provision of the bill, saying law-abiding citizens should not be stopped from carrying a gun if they chose to do so. George Lyon, one of the plaintiffs in the recent Palmer decision, said D.C. residents should not be limited from carrying “unless evidence exists that doing so would be a threat to public safety.”
House of worship leaders also testified, asking that the Council prohibit carrying in these buildings, rather than leaving it up to each congregation to make that decision and post signs.
Lanier said regulations on concealed carry will be released by close of business on October 22, when a stay on a court ruling requiring public carry of handguns expires. Applications can be submitted after that.
When asked if she expects to approve applications for concealed carry, Lanier answered affirmatively, saying there’s “no motivation” for MPD to keep people from getting a permit if they need it. There are “no arbitrary of biased decisions being made,” she said.
