DC Handgun Purchase Info

I received a question from a District of Columbia resident about purchasing a firearm. Here is the skinny.

There is one FFL in DC, Charles Sykes. He is available at 301-577-1427. He does not have a storefront yet and runs his business by appointment only.

Someone more knowledgeable with the process described it as such:

1. Go to DC Metro Police Department (MPD) on Indiana Avenue and pick up a gun registration form.
2. Go shopping for a handgun wherever you'd like to buy one, e.g. gun store in MD or VA. The gun store should be able and willing to send the gun to Sykes.
3. Make an appointment with Sykes, who looks at the gun, takes $$$ from your friend, and autographs/fills out the form.
4. Go back to DC MPD with the executed form. They approve it, and you go back to Sykes and pick up the gun.
5. Take the gun to MPD, they shoot some rounds out of it, and give it back to you.

Note: the District requires a safety course as well. Minimum requirement is 4 hours classroom and 1 hour range time. I recommend Piedmont NRA Instructors' NRA Basic Pistol Class.

The DC MPD website on gun registration is available here. Thanks to the litigation efforts of Alan Gura, District residents are now able to purchase pistols on the California, Maryland, and Massachusetts handgun lists.