Hey all, DC resident here. Having gone through the process to register three handguns in DC (two new transfers and one previously owned in another jurisdiction), I can say that my personal experience contradicted the article’s premise that MPD’s process was painful and long. All three transfers took a matter of days, including the initial fingerprinting and background check, and MPD staff was knowledgeable and helpful through the process.
By contrast, I went to DCSA to have sights on a pistol replaced maybe 10 days or two weeks after it opened, and it was a complete dumpster fire. They initially refused to let me in the building, claiming I needed an appointment to drop something off with the gunsmith, and it was only when I pointed out that their website explicitly said gunsmithing did not require an appointment did they begrudgingly buzz me in, saying the gunsmith was going to “allow” me to drop the weapon off. Upon arriving upstairs, I was confronted by total chaos, to include having my information taken down on a piece of notebook paper and not being provided a receipt because they didn’t have a working printer. Ultimately, they forgot to call me to say the gun was done, and it was only when I called them after a week did they say that the gun was waiting for me across the river at their other location in Arlington, where they thought I had dropped it off. It was a complete nightmare.
I’m extremely supportive of an actual gun shop opening in DC, but I should note that DCSA is NOT one, and they only sell stuff through their price-gouged other location in Arlington. I acknowledge that this is a very small baby step in the right direction, however, and hopefully DCSA continues to improve.
Hey all, DC resident here. Having gone through the process to register three handguns in DC (two new transfers and one previously owned in another jurisdiction), I can say that my personal experience contradicted the article’s premise that MPD’s process was painful and long. All three transfers took a matter of days, including the initial fingerprinting and background check, and MPD staff was knowledgeable and helpful through the process.
By contrast, I went to DCSA to have sights on a pistol replaced maybe 10 days or two weeks after it opened, and it was a complete dumpster fire. They initially refused to let me in the building, claiming I needed an appointment to drop something off with the gunsmith, and it was only when I pointed out that their website explicitly said gunsmithing did not require an appointment did they begrudgingly buzz me in, saying the gunsmith was going to “allow” me to drop the weapon off. Upon arriving upstairs, I was confronted by total chaos, to include having my information taken down on a piece of notebook paper and not being provided a receipt because they didn’t have a working printer. Ultimately, they forgot to call me to say the gun was done, and it was only when I called them after a week did they say that the gun was waiting for me across the river at their other location in Arlington, where they thought I had dropped it off. It was a complete nightmare.
I’m extremely supportive of an actual gun shop opening in DC, but I should note that DCSA is NOT one, and they only sell stuff through their price-gouged other location in Arlington. I acknowledge that this is a very small baby step in the right direction, however, and hopefully DCSA continues to improve.