STUNNING DEVELOPMENT: DC Police Chief Lanier just told force not to arrest a person who can legally carry a gun in DC or any state.Â — Emily Miller (@EmilyMiller) July 28, 2014

Miller has been involved with this for quite some time. She has more on the issue here. Lanier has also instructed police to allow any qualified nonresident to carry in the District.

(Edit: here’s Lanier’s actual order [pdf])

Here’s the first catch: nonresidents are free to carry, but DC residents can only carry a gun that’s registered there. The registry in DC has been closed since 1976. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Heller was supposed to change that, but it’s still virtually impossible to get a handgun in the District. Gun shops are prohibited by zoning laws, so residents can’t buy a handgun directly. There is only one FFL willing to transfer handguns in from out of state.

We’re left with a system in which everyone but residents of Washington DC can now carry a handgun there.

Here’s the second catch: the District has a great number of other restrictions. It’s still illegal to possess magazines that hold more than ten rounds, and federal property is off-limits. Given that most of Washington DC is federal property, it’s going to be hard to walk twenty feet in any direction without running afoul of the law. Since the ruling only affects handguns, Grisham’s True Believers are also out of luck.

I’d caution against carrying there for the time being. Despite Lanier’s order, we’ll probably see harassment and arrests from cops on the ground.