FOX 5's Emily Miller gets DC gun carry permit approved :: 02/26/2015

WASHINGTON - Just seven months ago, D.C. was the only place in the country that did not allow anyone to legally carry a gun outside the home. A federal court ruled that violated the Second Amendment. So now, the police department is issuing carry permits to a few people.

I have been doing a series to show how the nation's capital has abided by the federal court ruling.

To remind you of the background, the City Council passed a law in the fall that allowed for handguns to be carried in public, but the bar was set very high for a permit. You have to prove you have so-called special dangers -- specific and current threats against you or your property.

Any day now, the judge will rule on whether the city is in contempt of court for writing a new law that is still unconstitutional.

I applied for a permit as soon as the law went into effect. At the end of October, I went to the firearms registration office at police headquarters.

Milton Agurs, who works in the office, explained to me that few people will pass muster to get a permit.

"Your life is in danger, your family or your property, or you have the type of business you carry large sums of money, jewelry. Under those circumstances, that's why you get conceal carry in the District of Columbia," he said.

I got the police reports from two different threats against me, as well as an FBI warning that a terror group is targeting journalists. I turned in my application at the end of November.

I dropped off my application in the permit office. I paid the non-refundable $75 fee. Then I just had to wait because Police Chief Cathy Lanier has 90 days to decide on carry applications.

I didn't hear anything until early February. Sgt. Hall called to investigate claims of “special dangers” before he met with the chief about my application.

Keep in mind, any American can apply for a D.C. gun permit. But so far, only 76 have done so. Thirty-one were denied. Five cancelled their own applications. And 16 were approved.

I was shocked to hear that I am the 15th person the police chief approved for a carry permit.

Why me?

The approval letter made the reason clear. I was approved based on two different threats against me, which I had documented with police reports. These are my “special dangers.”

The letter said that the police did not accept into consideration the terrorist threat against journalists because it is considered “general in nature.”

I have only received preliminary approval. To get the permit, I have to take 18 hours of classes with an instructor certified by the police within 45 days. I'm taking the class, but my decision whether or not to carry a gun in public is a personal one and will remain private.

No one could legally carry a gun in D.C. a year ago. Today, there are 16 of us who may exercise our Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Emily Miller is a proponent for Second Amendment rights. She is the author of “Emily Gets Her Gun,” which is about national politics of gun control and why she decided to get a gun in Washington, D.C.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/28192641/fox-5-emily-miller-gets-dc-gun-carry-permit-approved