Palmer vs. D. C. : DC has to offer concealed carry licenses to both residents and non-residents.

Today, the US District Court for D. C. handed down this ruling (PDF):

Therefore, the Court finds that the District of Columbia’s complete ban on the carrying of handguns in public is unconstitutional. Accordingly, the Court grants Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and enjoins Defendants from enforcing the home limitations of D.C. Code § 7-2502.02(a)(4) and enforcing D.C. Code § 22-4504(a) unless and until such time as the District of Columbia adopts a licensing mechanism consistent with constitutional standards enabling people to exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms. Furthermore, this injunction prohibits the District from completely banning the carrying of handguns in public for self-defense by otherwise qualified non-residents based solely on the fact that they are not residents of the District.

In other words:

1. DC has to create a concealed carry license system.


2. DC cannot exclude non-residents from obtaining a license.

However:

3. DC can make that system as restrictive as it likes within the bounds of Heller. It could be may-issue, for example, or require 40 hours or more of training (plus live fire drills).


4. Nothing in this ruling appears to require DC to allow for open carry of any firearm.


5. Nothing in this ruling appears to have any bearing on reciprocity.

Down the road, this could mean:

6. US territories that don't issue licenses will have to issue licenses. Right now, that just applies to the Mariana Islands and American Samoa.


7. Every state will be required to come up with a way to issue concealed handgun licenses to non-residents. You can check this map to see which states that affects. Also, Oregon is one of those states.


8. Eventually, anyone living in the United States could theoretically qualify to carry in all US states and territories --- although it may a huge pain in the ass to do so. Remember, this ruling says nothing about reciprocity. Although many states have reciprocal agreements --- there's a reason why Utah CHLs are so popular --- someone might have to carry a dozen licenses or more to do this.