Monday, July 14, 2008

Please wait at the door while I unlock, assemble and load my handgun

In response to the Supreme Court decision on the D.C. handgun ban, the mayor's office has proposed new legislation creating an exemption for self-defense within the home. Residents still wouldn't be able to keep a loaded handgun in their nightstand drawer, but the assembled/loaded gun would be permitted in the instance of an "immediate danger."

From SCOTUSblog:
That provision, officials told reporters, was meant to allow a handgun owner to get the gun and load it — for example, if a burglar were at the door. It would not allow the gun to be loaded or assembled or unlocked at all times it remained in the home.

Officials said they expected that this provision might be challenged in court by gun rights groups or individuals, on the theory that it is too restrictive and would not allow practical access to a working gun in an emergency.
In order to transport the handgun within the District (without a license to carry), you would have to unload it and carry it "securely wrapped in a package, with the package visible in plain view." I have questions:

First, do they mean the package must be "in plain view" or that the unloaded gun must be visible?
In the case of the latter, would a Ziploc baggie count as "secure" wrapping?
And finally, does this mean we're going to start seeing people wandering the streets with their little handguns in big Ziploc baggies? I hope so.

No comments: