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The D.C. Council is working out the details of the new gun laws, after a longtime ban on gun in the District was overturned by the Supreme Court.
A D.C. Council committee will hold a roundtable discussion at noon today on the Supreme Court's ruling that the city's handgun ban is unconstitutional.
Wednesday's discussion comse one day after Council member Phil Mendelson introduced legislation that would formally end the handgun ban.
Mendelson's legislation is co-sponsored by the 12 other council members. His bill would still require firearms in the home to be unloaded, disassembled and trigger-locked. But it adds an exemption for "immediate self-defense."
Some of the provisions include handguns need to be registered and unlocked guns are okay for self-defense. "This bill is directly responsive to the two issues the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional," Mendelson said.
"The Supreme Court's decision was regrettable; nevertheless, it is the law of the land," Mendelson said.
Gun rights advocates quickly questioned the wording of the bill, asking how residents would be able to anticipate an immediate need to defend themselves.
Mendelson said, if necessary, he will propose emergency action on the bill July 15 - the council's last legislative meeting before its summer recess.
Carl Roy, the owner of the Maryland Small Arms Range in Upper Marlboro said he's seen Washingtonians with their own handguns come out for years. "They're not going to say I'm taking my gun back to the District, but they're taking their gun back to the District," he said.
At a gun store in Silver Spring, more D.C. residents were coming in. "We have had a number of people from D.C. that are quite excited about the possibility of being able to own a firearm."
Some D.C. residents at the store seemed to be on different sides of the gun issue. "No, I don't need a handgun. Shotguns good enough for me," resident Andy English said.
"In situations where criminals know citizens are generally unarmed, they thrive," D.C. resident Lennie Mitchell said. For the average D.C. citizen, legal gun purchases are still weeks, if not months, away since there are no gun shop storefronts in the city.
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