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A permanent bill allowing the concealed carry of handguns in D.C. will go to the full Council this December.

The Council committee on Judiciary and Public Safety unanimously passed the bill, but not before discussing whether or not businesses should be burdened with prohibiting concealed guns.

Councilmember Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) moved an amendment that would have flipped the presumption for private businesses; instead of posting a sign saying concealed guns are not allowed on the premises, businesses would post a sign saying the weapons are allowed. That presumption was changed for houses of worship between first reading of the bill and today’s committee markup.

“We are not a standard jurisdiction,” Cheh argued, adding that “most businesses” plan to deny entry to concealed carriers. “We should craft a law that makes sense for us.”

Council Chair Phil Mendelson and committee chair Tommy Wells opposed the amendment, with both citing concerns over an all-but assured lawsuit over the bill.

“I don’t like the sign, either,” Mendelson said, but the city needs a “compelling reason” for flipping the presumption, he argued.

Mendelson said the issue was discussed with D.C.’s attorney general before emergency legislation was passed in October. “What this would do is significantly restrict the ability of a person who has received a license to carry a gun from being able to go anywhere,” he said. “In the drafting of this legislation, we have been constantly mindful of the fact that the requirement to carry is a requirement that the courts have interrupted … as a constitutional right.”

Emergency legislation was passed by the Council and regulations published by the Metropolitan Police Department in response to a July ruling that overturned D.C.’s ban on carrying handguns in public. The city is appealing that ruling, but in the meantime, MPD is accepting applications for concealed carry permits.

Wells said he had to make a choice between what he’d want as an advocate versus what he must do as a legislator. He expressed concern that D.C.’s bill may be used on the national stage as a precedent in gun laws, as the Heller decision allowing D.C. residents to legally own guns was. “The degree to which we continue to play the role of weakening handgun roles across America, I’m very reluctant to sign up for,” he said.

The bill does prohibit concealed carry of handguns from a number of places, including schools, D.C.-owned buildings, taverns and on public transportation.

As Mendelson pointed out, the plaintiffs in the handgun case are already trying to block implementation of D.C.’s concealed carry law, saying it does not make a genuine effort to comply with Judge Frederick Scullin’s ruling. “We are already on the edge in the view of those who have argued in court and have in some courts been successful,” he said. Cheh’s amendment failed.

The Council will vote on the bill during the December 6 legislative meeting.