Police officers who serve in our nation’s capital ought to have respect for Americans’ fundamental rights.
Among those rights, if you go by the Constitution, is the right to bear arms enshrined in the Second Amendment.
D.C. police don’t care much for that particular right.
Emily Miller is trying to get her concealed carry permit now that a court has forced the capital to issue them.
She reports that Washington seems to have found a way to act like it is complying with the ruling, without actually complying with the ruling. First, the city forces applicants to prove that they have a “need” for a gun. Miller has suffered a home invasion and, as a conservative female journalist, has been subjected to personal threats.
That may not be enough to persuade the chief that she “needs” a gun.
“I was a victim of a home invasion. And I’ve gotten a threat against me. Do I just give the police records?” I asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
I asked Agurs who will decide whether or not my self-defense needs are special?
That’s something the chief of police will do,” he said, referring to Chief Cathy Lanier. “But you’ll have your reasons why you feel like you need it.”
“The chief of police personally will decide whether or not I get a carry permit?” I asked.
“You know it usually works– it’s going to be her or someone on her staff,” he said.
Proving a “need” is just one part of the carry permit application. You have to do 16 hours of classroom training, plus two hours at the range.
“Where do I go to do that?” I asked Agurs.
“Unfortunately, I think they are still setting up the classes,” he replied.
There’s the rub. The city isn’t actually abiding by the court decision. No one can apply for a carry permit because the police haven’t certified any trainers for the mandatory classes. That might be partly because D.C. charges trainers $400 to be certified.
With no certified instructors to teach the 18-hour class, no one can take the class, which means no one can be certified to carry. Which means only criminals (and body guards of the rich and powerful, but mainly criminals) in Washington will have guns.
Miller asked the officer if the Second Amendment really applies in the nation’s capital or not. Here’s how he answered.
“I believe when the Second Amendment was written, that was more or less for when the British were coming.”
That’s an unacceptable attitude toward our fundamental civil rights.
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