Gun ownership comes with its own set of responsibilities, and when you are a gun owner residing outside or inside Washington, D.C., navigating the city’s stringent firearm laws can be a challenge. Not knowing the District’s  law can easily lead to a law-abiding citizen in one state becoming a felon within D.C. The purpose of this blog is to explore the ins and outs of bringing a firearm that is registered in another jurisdiction into the District and the legal landscape surrounding this type of firearm transportation. Is it Illegal to Carry an Unlicensed Firearm in Washington, D.C.? The s ..read more

Last year, in Palmer v. District of Columbia, a federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that the District of Columbia’s carrying a pistol statute was facially unconstitutional. In a lawsuit that had been pending for several years, the judge granted the plaintiffs’ request for an injunction. The judge enjoined the city from enforcing provisions of the D.C. Code that imposed an absolute bar on carrying pistol in the District of Columbia. The Court also held that the Court could not categorically bar out of state residents from possessing a firearm in ..read more

A common, unfortunate scenario that often occurs in the District of Columbia because of its strict gun laws, goes something like this: Average out-of-state, law abiding citizen with no prior criminal record travels through or to the nation’s capital. We will call him John. John commits one of the hundreds of possible District of Columbia traffic infractions while driving. And this traffic infraction could involve something as innocuous as hanging something from the rear view mirror or having window tint that is too dark. One of the dozens of law enforcement agencies that has jurisdiction in t ..read more

On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court held 6-3 in NY Pistol & Rifle Association v. Bruen that New York’s proper cause requirement for obtaining a concealed carry license was unconstitutional. The case brought together some unlikely allies in challenging New York’s law.  For example, several progressive public defender organizations like the Black Attorneys of Legal Aid, the Bronx Defenders, and the Brooklyn Defender Services filed an amicus brief in support of the NRA’s brief. In this blog, I will explain why public defender organizations filed briefs supporting the NRA’s position, expl ..read more

The District of Columbia has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. While federal courts have on several occasions struck down D.C. gun laws, the city still maintains some of the most restrictive policies for gun owners.The District of Columbia has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation. While federal courts have on several occasions struck down D.C. gun laws, the city still maintains some of the most restrictive policies for gun owners. The first step in lawfully possessing a firearm in the District of Columbia is registering it with the Metropolitan Police Department. This must b ..read more

For a city dedicated to the admiration of the Constitution and the nation that it founded, Washington, D.C. has a history of having some of the strictest gun laws in the country. It’s protection of the 2nd Amendment Right to Bear Arms has always been heavily regulated and severely enforced. On July 25, 2017, however, the tide seemed to turn when a panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 that the “good reason” requirement in obtaining a license to carry a pistol in the District is unconstitutional. The United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbi ..read more

This is the final part of a three part series on DC gun laws. In the first part, I discussed the current state of DC gun laws and how its important to challenge current gun charges on the basis of the law’s unconstitutionality. The second part discussed the process for attempting to withdraw a guilty plea on a gun conviction under the District’s old law and weighed the pros and cons of trying to withdraw a guilty plea. This final part discusses the class action lawsuit filed by Scrofano Law PC and the Law Office of William Claiborne. In Smith et al v. District of Columbia, we argue that after ..read more

The first part of this three part series discussed the current state of the District of Columbia’s gun laws. The second part will discuss the process involved in attempting to withdraw a guilty plea in DC Superior Court and the pros and cons of attempting to get your plea withdrawn. Ordinarily, moving to withdraw a guilty plea is a very difficult process. Many defense attorneys refer to the process for withdrawing a guilty plea as “pulling teeth.” However, given the negative consequences associated with having a criminal conviction on your record, and the current successful challenges to the ..read more

There has been a lot of news lately regarding DC’s gun laws. If you have been convicted in the District of Columbia for carrying a pistol, unregistered firearm, or unregistered ammunition prior to October of 2014, there may be a legal remedy available to get your conviction overturned. Part I will discuss the current state of the District’s gun laws and how you may be able to get your conviction overturned. Part II will discuss the pros and cons of trying to get your conviction overturned. Finally, Part III will discuss a class action lawsuit filed by Scrofano Law PC and The Law Office of Wil ..read more