The Supreme Court ruled last week that states and localities cannot ban handguns intended for self-defense. That could overturn local bans, just the way a decision two years ago ended a ban in Washington, D.C. National Public Radio reports that hundreds of Washington residents have taken advantage of the new law, but many complain it’s still too difficult to get a gun in the nation’s capital.
The toughest thing about getting a gun is finding a gun store. There are none. You have to drive to a neighboring state like Maryland or Virginia to buy a weapon. If you have a D.C. driver's license, you'll have to transfer the weapon to someone with a federal firearms license in D.C. and pay a $125 transfer fee. Then the federal licensee gives your gun back to you. Then you have to be fingerprinted, you have to submit photographs, you have to take a class that's supposed to consist of four hours of classroom and an hour of range time with an an approved instructor. That can bring the cost of registering to more than $500.