District of Columbia Firearm Freedom Act

(1) Article I, section 8, clause 17 of the Constitution grants Congress plenary legislative authority over the District of Columbia.

(2) The Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms, and the District must maintain laws consistent with that constitutional guarantee.

(3) United States citizens visiting the National Capital and those who reside or work in the District should not have their constitutionally protected Second Amendment rights infringed.

(4) The District’s regulatory structure has imposed undue burdens on legal gun owners and residents wishing to be legal gun owners, prior restraints on purchasing and concealed carrying firearms, and feature-based restrictions that unduly burden lawful acquisition, possession, and carrying of firearms by responsible residents and visitors.

The term District means the District of Columbia.

The term firearm has the meaning given that term in section 921(a)(3) of title 18, United States Code.

The term licensee means a person licensed under section 923 of title 18, United States Code (a Federal firearms licensee).

The term prohibited person means any person prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms under Federal law, including section 922(g) of title 18, United States Code.

No law, regulation, rule, or policy of the District may require any person to obtain, before acquiring, receiving, possessing, or bringing into the District a firearm otherwise lawful under Federal law, any license, certificate, registration, approval, permit, or other authorization as a condition precedent to such acquisition, receipt, possession, or importation.

No person may be arrested, prosecuted, or subjected to criminal penalties under District law solely because the person acquired, received, possessed, or brought into the District a firearm without first obtaining District authorization described in subsection (a), if the person is not a prohibited person under Federal law.

The District may not require the registration of any privately owned firearm. Any provision of District law, regulation, rule, or policy requiring registration of a firearm, conditioning lawful possession on registration, or imposing any penalty for failure to register a firearm is hereby repealed and shall have no force or effect.

Any District provision that—

(1) establishes or authorizes a registry of firearms;

(2) requires a registration certificate, registration card, or proof of registration;

(3) makes lawful possession, transport, storage, use, purchase, sale, transfer, carrying, or receipt of a firearm contingent upon registration; or

(4) authorizes seizure, forfeiture, or arrest solely for a registration-related violation, is preempted and may not be enforced.

The District may not establish or maintain any system that, in purpose or effect, functions as a firearm registration requirement, including any requirement to report or record firearm identifying information as a precondition to lawful possession, purchase, transfer, transport, or carrying, except to the extent such information is collected by a Federal firearms licensee as required under Federal law.

Beginning on the effective date of this Act, the District may not accept, process, or require any registration application, registration renewal, or registration amendment for any firearm.

Not later than 180 days after the effective date of this Act, the District shall destroy each firearm registration record in the possession of the District, including database entries, paper records, and electronic files, except records that are evidence in a pending criminal prosecution or are required to be retained by Federal law.

No firearm registration record possessed by the District on or after the effective date of this Act may be used as a basis for probable cause, reasonable suspicion, or any adverse action against any person.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to alter Federal background check requirements under section 922(t) of title 18, United States Code, or Federal prohibitions on possession by prohibited persons under section 922(g) of title 18, United States Code.

Notwithstanding any other provision of District of Columbia law, no law, regulation, rule, or policy of the District may prohibit the possession, acquisition, sale, transfer, transport, or use of any firearm on the basis of—

(1) the firearm being semiautomatic;

(2) the capacity to accept a detachable magazine; or

(3) any feature, characteristic, component, or configuration that is based on appearance, ergonomics, or other nonfunctional or commonly possessed attributes, including a pistol grip, adjustable stock, barrel shroud or handguard, muzzle device, threaded barrel, forward grip, or accessory rail.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit possession of firearms prohibited under Federal law, including items regulated under the National Firearms Act (26 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.), except to the extent Federal law otherwise permits such possession.

Any District of Columbia provision defining or prohibiting assault weapons (or substantially similar term) in a manner inconsistent with this section is hereby preempted and shall have no force or effect.

Sections 601(b) and 601(c) of the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 are hereby repealed.

Any person 21 years of age or older who is not a prohibited person and can otherwise legally own a firearm under Federal law may carry a concealed handgun in the District without any District-issued license or permit.

The District may not require any license, permit, training, fingerprinting, good cause, suitability determination, or other discretionary or nondiscretionary prerequisite as a condition to carrying a firearm concealed.

The District may prohibit concealed carry only in locations where prohibitions are consistent with the Constitution and Federal law, including—

(1) secure areas of law enforcement facilities;

(2) courthouses and courtrooms;

(3) detention facilities;

(4) polling places on election day (as narrowly tailored);

(5) a school zone, consistent with the terms of 18 U.S.C. 921(a) and 922(q); and

(6) any place where possession is prohibited by Federal statute.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the right of a private property owner to restrict or prohibit firearms on the owner’s property, provided that such owner shall give notice of any such prohibition or restriction by posting a sign at any publicly accessible entrance to the property or by express notice to individuals entering the property.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the District from issuing a carry credential on an optional basis for residents seeking reciprocity in other jurisdictions, provided that such a credential is not required for any person to carry concealed within the District under this Act.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require the District to permit open carry. The District’s laws restricting or prohibiting the open carrying of firearms, to the extent otherwise consistent with the Constitution, shall not be preempted by this Act.

Section 922(b)(3) of title 18, United States code is amended by striking the semicolon at the end and inserting, and (C) shall not apply to the sale or delivery of a firearm by a licensee whose licensed premises are located in the Commonwealth of Virginia or the State of Maryland to a resident of the District of Columbia if (i) the transferee appears in person at the licensee’s premises; (ii) the transfer is completed in compliance with section 922(t) (including a NICS background check or a lawful alternative under Federal law); (iii) the transferee is not a prohibited person; and (iv) the sale, delivery, and receipt would be lawful if the transferee were a resident of the State in which the licensee’s premises are located, except that the District of Columbia shall not be treated as a State for purposes of imposing any additional restriction;.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to—

(1) alter Federal prohibitions on possession or receipt of firearms by prohibited persons; or

(2) alter Federal requirements applicable to licensees, including recordkeeping.

The Attorney General shall, not later than 60 days after enactment, update any implementing guidance necessary to ensure NICS and licensee compliance for transfers authorized by this section.

This Act supersedes and preempts any law, regulation, rule, or policy of the District that is inconsistent with this Act, and such inconsistent provisions shall have no force or effect.

The District may not enforce any portion of a preempted provision by reissuing it under a different name, authority, or rulemaking vehicle.

Any person adversely affected by a violation of this Act, or by the enforcement or threatened enforcement of a District law preempted by this Act, may bring a civil action in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for declaratory and injunctive relief.

In an action under subsection (a), the court may award appropriate relief, including—

(1) declaratory relief;

(2) temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief;

(3) compensatory damages (where otherwise available); and

(4) reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.

This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take effect on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.