Registering Long Guns in DC? --Please help

FloydofOz · Jul 20, 2009

I moved into DC last weekend and brought my two long guns with me. I just called the DC Police registration hotline and they told me I need to register these guns.

She said I need to bring them both in a "locked case or some kind of container" down to the station and then pay a $35 fee to get fingerprinted.

Questions:

I bought both of these guns in Baltimore County about a year and 1/2 ago. I know this is bad, but I don't really know where any of the receipts are. I bought the shotgun used from Continental arms and the Ruger 10/.22 new from Just Guns. I didn't think I had to do much in the way of registering since they're long guns. Am I going to need to bring some kind of documentation with me to prove that they are mine? Am I somehow connected to the serial numbers on the barrels?

I don't have a locked case. I keep them in old guitar cases or on a rack and always use gun socks when traveling for hunts. Do I really have to go buy a case?

She also said I need to bring something to prove that I am a DC resident. I am maintaining my Maryland residency for tax purposes and so that I can maybe get in-state tuition to law school in Maryland eventually. I park off the street so I don't need to register my car here, so I was hoping to avoid it all. Am I just going to have to bend over and become a DC resident after all?

Maybe I should just call again, but she started sounding all suspicious of me so I got pretty paranoid and ended the call! hahaha

So it turns out that I'm apparently breaking some laws right now, and if I try to register the guns I legally bought and was hoping to own for life it's going to cost me some money. I'm also not too keen on them having my fingerprints.

More than anything I'm just really afraid that I'll try to go do the right thing and lose my guns. With my bank account low and hunting season a couple months away, this isn't an option.

What would you do if you were me?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Adams74Chevy · Jul 20, 2009

Do you have any family in MD you can keep them at?

FloydofOz · Jul 20, 2009

My parents still live in Maryland but they don't want any guns in the house. My mom's views have changed on the matter but my dad is going to take some time... (yeah, I know) Besides, I'm a grown man, they're mine and I want to keep them

I might be living here for a while.

Adams74Chevy · Jul 20, 2009

If your going to stay in DC for a while you might as well be legal about. Good luck. (I couldn't stand to live in a town let alone a city like DC)

novus collectus · Jul 20, 2009

I will see what I can answer which is difficult because DC law has changed drastically maybe five times since last year.

FloydofOz said:
I moved into DC last weekend and brought my two long guns with me. I just called the DC Police registration hotline and they told me I need to register these guns.

YOu need to register the long guns and start the process within either 24 or 72 hours of bringing them into the city IIRC. YOu call the hotline number to let them know you just brought them into the city limits and then you go down to the MPD headquarters to start the paperwork.

She said I need to bring them both in a "locked case or some kind of container" down to the station and then pay a $35 fee to get fingerprinted.

Questions:

I bought both of these guns in Baltimore County about a year and 1/2 ago. I know this is bad, but I don't really know where any of the receipts are. I bought the shotgun used from Continental arms and the Ruger 10/.22 new from Just Guns. I didn't think I had to do much in the way of registering since they're long guns. Am I going to need to bring some kind of documentation with me to prove that they are mine? Am I somehow connected to the serial numbers on the barrels?

From what I understand, you do not need to prove they are yours with any documentation since you were not a DC resident.

I don't have a locked case. I keep them in old guitar cases or on a rack and always use gun socks when traveling for hunts. Do I really have to go buy a case?

YOu can use any container which can be locked from the way I read it, and it must be locked. It must also be unloaded. They say to bring the unloaded mag for the semi auto.

She also said I need to bring something to prove that I am a DC resident. I am maintaining my Maryland residency for tax purposes and so that I can maybe get in-state tuition to law school in Maryland eventually. I park off the street so I don't need to register my car here, so I was hoping to avoid it all. Am I just going to have to bend over and become a DC resident after all?

Federally you can maintain two residences in two different states. For DC I asked this question a while back about dual residency and yes it is possible to have a place you stay at in DC and register the firearms that are kept at that address. Non-residents coud even register long guns in the past to be kept at their DC business location and I do not think this has changed for long guns.
YOu may want to email sergeant Hall with this and the other questions. I will post his email address at the end of this post.

Maybe I should just call again, but she started sounding all suspicious of me so I got pretty paranoid and ended the call! hahaha

So it turns out that I'm apparently breaking some laws right now, and if I try to register the guns I legally bought and was hoping to own for life it's going to cost me some money. I'm also not too keen on them having my fingerprints.

If the firearms are not within city limits, then there is no law being broken. YOu can keep them in a storage locker in MD or VA forever if you want and never have to deal with DC if you do not want. However, if you want a firearm to use for home defense within DC, then you have to play their game.

More than anything I'm just really afraid that I'll try to go do the right thing and lose my guns. With my bank account low and hunting season a couple months away, this isn't an option.

What would you do if you were me?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

I would register them because I would want to have a gun for home protection, but because of the cost I would keep one in MD and never register it in DC.
It is going to cost you to register in DC and to jump through their hoops.

Please do not try to register both firearms at once until you speak with sergeant Hall (tell him both firearms are not in the city yet). There may still be a one in thirty days registration restriction on handguns, but I am not sure it is for rifles.

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1237,q,566989.asp

Sergeant Hall's email is: colin.hall@dc.gov

Please be very direct with your questions to avoid confusion or ambiguity. Sometimes his answers can be brief and can have two meanings.

Please let us know what he says so others can know what is needed.

One last warning. DO NOT POSSESS ANY AMMUNITION IN DC UNTIL AFTER YOU HAVE A REGISTERED FIREARM FOR THAT CALIBER!!
The one exception is if you are travelling through DC on the way to a shoting event.

novus collectus · Jul 20, 2009

I forgot one important thing. If you bring your magazine for your 10/22, then make sure it does not hold more than ten rounds.

I asked sergeant Hall a while back about pinning magazines to hold ten rounds only like how they do in Canada to 30 round AK mags and he gave the perception this was allowed. So if you only have a greater than 10 round magazine, then drill a hole at the point the follower can only hold ten rounds and then pin it with a pop rivet or something, or weld a tack on the inside of the mag so the follower can only go so far down.
Ask the sergeant again if this is allowed.

FloydofOz · Jul 20, 2009

Novus,

Thanks so much for your help! I'm going to look into all this and contact Sgt. Hall. I'll post what happens.

F this S...but I gotta do what I gotta do.

Registering Long Guns in DC? --Please help

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