D.C. chief orders cops not to arrest legal gun owners carrying weapons in public

By Andrea Noble
The Washington Times
Updated: 12:57 p.m. on Monday, July 28, 2014

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D.C. police officers were instructed late Sunday not to arrest people for carrying legally registered handguns on city streets in the wake of a judge’s ruling that determined the District’s ban on carrying handguns in public was unconstitutional.Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier sent out an internal memo to officers late Sunday telling them not to arrest individuals found carrying handguns that are either legally registered in the District or in other states. Officers may still stop individuals to inquire about the legality of the weapon and run checks on a person to determine if they are a felon and ineligible from owning a gun.
SEE ALSO: D.C. seeks stay in order striking down ban on handguns in public
“Unfortunately the recent court ruling has left many unanswered questions,” said Chief Lanier in a statement issued Monday. “We are meeting with the legal team for the City now to try to get those answers.”She said the department plans to issue additional guidance to the public shortly.In a long-awaited opinion handed down Saturday, U.S. District Court Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. struck down a portion of the District’s gun laws which allowed residents to possess guns only inside their homes or businesses. The city denied residents who registered their handguns or individuals from other states who legally owned guns from carrying the firearms in public for self-defense.The ruling by Judge Scullin, who is normally assigned to the Northern District of New York, caught the city by surprise and sent officials scrambling to react. The city’s attorney general plans by the end of the day Monday to seek a stay in the case to block the ruling from gutting the city’s gun laws while the decision is appealed. But officials conceded that the ruling had taken immediate effect and drafted the instruction to the city’s police officers.

Scenarios
You stop a man on the street carrying a firearm and:
Scenario 1: The man says he is a resident of the District, but the gun is unregistered.
You should charge him with Unregistered Firearm.
Scenario 2: The man lives in Vermont, which does not require a license or permit for either open or concealed carry of a handgun. You run his name, and no criminal record is apparent.
You should record any relevant information for potential further investigation, and he is free to leave.
Scenario 3: The man lives in Virginia, where no license or permit is required to openly carry a handgun. However, when you run his name, records indicate that he is a convicted felon.
Under District and federal law, felons may not legally possess a firearm. You should arrest him for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm.
— From teletype issued to officers by Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier

Chief Lanier’s memo, which was obtained by The Washington Times, states that police can still charge D.C. residents with possession of an unregistered firearm in the case that they have not registered the weapon with the Metropolitan Police Department. Individuals from other states will no longer be charged with the crime.

SEE ALSO: Federal judge rules D.C. ban on handguns in public is unconstitutional
Possession of an unregistered firearm in the District was punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 or one year in jail.A patchwork of other law enforcement agencies are responsible for security in federal areas of the city and elsewhere, leaving room for discrepancies in how the ruling is interpreted.On the National Mall, U.S. Park Police plan to enforce the law the same as D.C. police, Park Police spokeswoman Sgt. Lelani Woods said. But firearms will remain prohibited at national museums, she said.Park Police have not issued any guidance on the matter to officers but will continue to work with D.C. officials to determine which guidelines to enforce and where they should be enforced, Sgt. Woods said.Judge Scullin’s 19-page opinion orders the city to cease enforcement of the law that restricts residents from carrying handguns outside the home “until such time as the District of Columbia adopts a licensing mechanism consistent with constitutional standards enabling people to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms.”Chief Lanier’s order also gives D.C. residents the ability to register handguns for the purpose of carrying the firearm in public for self-defense. Police said Monday that they had registered 3,076 guns since a near-total ban on handguns was lifted in 2008.

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