Reform of D.C. Carry Laws One Step Closer to Reality

If there’s one place in America that should have universal recognition of concealed carry permits, it’s our nation’s capital. There are lawmakers, staffers, and visitors from every state in the Union in Washington, D.C., but instead of embracing their Second Amendment rights local politicians in the District have made it incredibly difficult to exercise our right to bear arms. 

D.C. recognizes no permits other than those issued by the Metropolitan Police Department, which forces non-residents to obtain a D.C CCW before they can lawfully carry once the cross the Potomac and enter the District. That’s easier said than done if you live beyond the greater D.C. area. Good luck finding an instructor in most states who can teach the training course the MPD requires before someone can submit an application. 

As we recently covered, though, there’s an effort underway to give the District’s carry laws an overhaul using the appropriations process, and this week that effort got one step closer to becoming reality. 

House Republicans on Monday advanced a hulking effort to overwrite a swath of D.C. laws and restrict local spending, touching facets of city life from health care to public safety in a move that frustrated local leaders who have few options to stave off federal intervention. 

… The House Financial Services and General Government subcommittee considered the bill Monday evening. The bill extends a pair of long-standing budgetary restrictions — known as riders — that D.C. leaders have for years tried to remove. One restricts the city from using local funds to subsidize abortions for low-income residents. Another restricts D.C. from setting up a recreational marijuana market.

… If enacted, the legislation would also prohibit D.C. from spending local funds to enforce vehicle emission standards. It includes a provision that would prevent the District from allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections and would repeal the Death With Dignity Act, a 2016 measure permitting physicians to help terminally ill patients die. And it allows people with a concealed carry permit from any state or territory to carry a concealed weapon in D.C. and on public transportation.

Now, there are some limitations here. Because this is a rider to an appropriations bill, the language would have to be renewed every year to remain in effect, and as soon as Democrats gain control of the budget process D.C.’s laws on concealed carry are going to revert back to the draconian restrictions that are currently in place. 

There’s also no guarantee that the language will survive the appropriations process, or that this particular bill will have enough votes to be enacted into law. Unlike reconciliation bills, appropriation legislation requires 60 votes in the Senate for passage, and Democrats are already debating the political wisdom of rejecting Republican spending bills, which could lead to a government shutdown. 

Democrats will try to pin the blame on Republicans if a shutdown happens, of couse. House Speaker Hakeem Jefferies is already crafting that narrative, telling reporters on Tuesday night that “House Republicans are in fact marching us toward a possible government shutdown that will hurt the American people.”

Republicans have control of both the House and Senate, so if there aren’t 60 votes in the upper chamber, it’s not going be because of Republicans. Democrats will own any shutdown that happens, and with the midterms a little more than a year away there’s a huge risk that voters will punish them for their inaction. 

The rider related to D.C.’s carry laws is just one very small piece of a much bigger puzzle, so gun owners need to contact their House members to let them know how important it is to them. We’ve already seen major gains through the reconciliation process, and grassroots pressure on congresscritters helped ensure that the language zeroing out taxes on most NFA items remained in place (even if the Senate balked at overriding the parliamentarian and including a repeal of the registration requirements as well). We need to do the same with this appropriations bill, and with a little luck and a lot of work we might soon be able to exercise our right to carry in D.C. without having to first navigate a maze of red tape and bureaucratic obstacles. 

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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