District begins licensing pistols

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By David C. Lipscomb and Matthew Cella, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The first handgun registered in the District after the city's 32-year ban was a Ruger .357 Magnum that arrived Thursday in blue plastic grocery bag.

The gun was brought to the Metropolitan Police Department's Firearm Registration Section, in Northwest, shortly after 1 p.m., by a woman from Northwest who asked to be identified only as Amy.

The woman, a third-generation D.C. resident and a mother, told The Washington Times that she strolled past reporters assembled in the lobby and brought the bag to a security guard.

"There's a revolver in this bag," the woman said she told the security guard. She said the guard then asked her to repeat herself, so she said again, "There's a revolver in this bag."

The woman said officers escorted her inside the building and administered a written test, fingerprinted her and removed her gun for test firing.

"I wanted to register as soon as possible, but I waited until later in the day to avoid the rush," said the woman, who said the gun was a gift from about six years ago and that she had stored it outside the District.

She was the only one of the 58 applicants to complete the process, including a ballistics test on the gun.

Among the first to arrive when the doors opened at 7 a.m. was Dick Anthony Heller, 66, who was the responder in the case District of Columbia v. Heller. However, Mr. Heller, was told be could not register his 45-caliber semiautomatic Colt Model 1911 because it is still illegal under D.C. law. He couldn't register a second gun, a revolver, because he didn't bring the weapon with him.

"Now I'm disappointed," said Mr. Heller, a security guard. "I've been denied again."

Mr. Heller said he will try to register a nine-shot .22-caliber Harrington and Richardson revolver Friday.