D.C. Mayor Vince Gray took a stance against Councilman Phil Mendelson’s handguns bill in a letter to the council chairman Tuesday.
Mendelson’s bill would allow the District to acquire a federal firearms license that would allow it to deal handguns, although the councilman’s intent is for the city to be able to act as a middleman for residents who want to bring legally purchased handguns into the District.
The only licensee in the District closed up shop while looking for a new location, creating a de facto ban on handguns in the city once ordered by the Supreme Court to drop its gun ban.
But Gray urged the council to reject the bill, saying in a letter to Council Chairman Kwame Brown that the legislation would give the government an “unneccessary burden” and expose it to liability, as well as undermine its stance in favor of gun control. Gray said his administration was making “extraordinary efforts” to help the lone licensee, Charles Sykes, find a location to open his business.
Sykes said last week that he submitted several potential addresses to the district’s zoning officials but had been rejected every time.
