Transportation of firearms in a vehicle is permitted in the District if the person is not prohibited from transporting, shipping or receiving a firearm, and is transporting a firearm for a lawful purpose to and from a place where gun possession is a lawful activity.¹ The gun must be unloaded, and neither the gun nor any ammunition may be accessible from the passenger compartment.² If the vehicle does not have a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment, the firearm and ammunition must be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console, and the firearm must be unloaded.³

The District prohibits a person from being voluntarily in a motor vehicle if he or she knows that a firearm is in the vehicle, unless the firearm is being lawfully carried or lawfully transported.⁴ An affirmative defense to this charge may be raised that the defendant, upon learning that a firearm was in the vehicle, had the specific intent to immediately leave the vehicle, but did not have a reasonable opportunity under the circumstances to do so.⁵

If a firearm is transported in a manner other than in a vehicle, the firearm shall be: 1) unloaded; 2) inside a locked container; and 3) separate from any ammunition.⁶

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1. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-4504.02(a).[↩]
2. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-4504.02(b)(1).[↩]
3. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-4504.02(b)(2).[↩]
4. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-2511(a).[↩]
5. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-2511(b).[↩]
6. D.C. Code Ann. § 22-4504.02(c).[↩]