Every State has a different process to legally obtain a firearm. Some State governments feel if the process is long and complicated, it will somehow result in less firearms in criminal hands. So let’s look at the gold standard of licensing firearms, the 22 step, four month process used to obtain a firearm in Washington DC. This process was documented by Washington Times writer Emily Miller in a ten part series. Read the series: Emily Gets Her Gun
She decided to get a gun for protection after a house she was home-sitting for a friend appeared to be the target of a home invasion.
The 22 Step Process
- Pick up the 22-page packet of forms and instructions from the Firearms Registration Office.
- Fill out the eligibility form.
- Get form notarized. ($2)
- Find an instructor certified to teach the DC approved Firearms Safety Course and is available to instruct when you are available to attend. By law, they cannot teach the class in the DC area. You have to go to Maryland or Virginia.
- Take the required four hours of classroom instruction and one hour of range instruction.
- Have the instructor fill out and sign the Firearms Safety Course Compliance Form. ($225)
- Provide proof that your vision is satisfactory (driver’s license suffices).
- Provide proof of residency (driver’s license suffices).
- Get two passport photos. ($12)
- Study DC’s firearms laws and regulations (guide provided in the packet)
- Schedule, take and pass the 20-question multiple choice test.
- Be fingerprinted by Police Department. ($35)
- Buy a gun on the DC approved list from an out of District dealer.
- Arrange to have gun shipped to DC’s only legal Gun Broker. ($72)
- Have Gun Broker receive the firearm and fill out his section of the Application for Firearms Registration Certificate. ($125)
- Sign Application for Firearms Registration Certificate. Have signature notarized. ($2)
- Submit notarized Eligibility Form, Application for Firearms Registration Certificate, the Firearms Safety Course Compliance Form, photos, and copy of drivers’ license for approval. ($13)
- After the application is submitted, wait for the application to be approved.
- After application is approved, wait 10 days for Gun Broker to be legally allowed to release the firearm
- Pick up the gun from Gun Broker.
- Take gun directly to the Police Department for a ballistics test. ($12)
- Take gun home by the most direct route and secure it. Gun must be transported locked in car trunk or a locked box for SUV’s without a trunk. Ammunition and firearm cannot be transported in the same container.
The process took four months, cost $498 not including transportation expenses and required five days off work. No criminal would ever try to go through this process to obtain a firearm. So what is the purpose of this process? It’s sure not to reduce crime because Washington DC leads the country in violent crimes.
What if Emily was in fear for her life from an abusive ex-boyfriend and wanted to be able to protect herself because she realized, “When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.” Would she have to hide and live in fear for four months until the government “allows” her to own a firearm? This happened to a New Jersey woman with an abusive ex-boyfriend. Forty-five days after applying for a permit to just own a gun, she was killed by her ex-boyfriend with a knife. Read the story here: Gun Law Fails, Again
Remember, this is not a concealed carry permit. This is a permit to own and keep a firearm in your home. You can only take the firearm outside of your home to a shooting range or a gunsmith and it must be by the most direct route. Of course, there are no shooting ranges or gunsmiths in Washington DC. Concealed carry permits have only recently became legal in DC, but are nearly impossible to get as you have to prove an “imminent threat” to your life.
Strangely enough, during her four month ordeal, her supervisor at the Washington Times who lives in Virginia, bought a firearm on the internet. He had it shipped to his local Federal Firearms Licensed dealer as required by law (only licensed gun dealers can ship firearms to other licensed gun dealers by law). The gun arrived the next day. He stopped on the way home, filled out the ATF Form 4473, received the NICS background check, paid for the gun and was out the door in ten minutes. Time from purchase to possession, 36 hours. Time spent on purchase, five minutes on internet and ten minutes in the gun shop.
Washington DC violent crime rate: 1,244.4 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Virginia violent crime rate: 196.2 violent crimes per 100,000 residents.
Draw your own conclusions.