Judiciary and Public Safety Public Hearing

Council of the District of Columbia COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY & PUBLIC SAFETY Notice of Public Hearing 1 350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20004 COUNCILMEMBER CHARLES ALLEN, CHAIRPERSON Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety Announces a Public Hearing on F i r e a r m s T r a f fi c k i n g i n t h e W a s h i n g t o n M e t r o p o l i t a n R e g i o n a n d Legislative Strategies to Respond to Firearm Violence a n d Bill 23-0018, the "Ghost Guns Prohibition Amendment Act of 2019" Thursday, October 3,2019,10:00 a.m. Room 412, John A. Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004 On Thursday, October 3, 2019, Councilmember Charles Allen, Chairperson of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, will convene a public hearing to discuss the topic of "Firearms Trafficking in the Washington Metropolitan Region and Legislative Strategies to Respond to Firearm Violence" and Bill 23-0018, the "Ghost Guns Prohibition Amendment Act of 2019". The hearing will take place in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., at 10:00 a.m. Please note that this hearing had previously been scheduled for June 27 and noticed in the D.C. Register. While the District has some of the most comprehensive gun safety laws in the nation, firearms remain ubiquitous, and there is a troubling nexus between access to firearms and the commission of violent crime. Many of the firearms that enter the District from neighboring states travel through the "Iron Pipeline", the term used to describe Interstate-95, a popular route for gun traffickers on the East Coast. The purpose of this public hearing is to learn more about the Iron Pipeline, current gun trafficking trends as they affect the District, and possible legislative solutions. The Committee will also solicit testimony from District, state, and federal law enforcement agencies to comment on interagency efforts to combat gun trafficking. The stated purpose of B23-0018 is to prohibit the possession of "ghost guns", defined as "a firearm that, after removal of all parts other than a receiver, cannot be detected by a metal detector". The advent of 3D-printing technology has enabled individuals to "print" - or manufacture - firearm 1 components from plastic materials. These plastic firearm components present challenges to traditional methods for detecting the presence of firearms, such as metal detectors or X-ray machines. While firearms that caimot be detected by a metal detector are already prohibited by federal law, the District currently does not have a prohibition on the possession of such firearms. B23-0018 proposes to address that omission. The Committee invites the public to testify or to submit written testimony. Anyone wishing to testify at the hearing should contact the Committee via email at iudiciarv@dccouncil.us and provide their name, telephone number, organizational affiliation, and title (if any), by close of business Monday, September 30. Representatives of organizations will be allowed a maximum of five minutes for oral testimony, and individuals will be allowed a maximum of three minutes. Witnesses should bring twenty copies of their written testimony and, if possible, also submit a copy of their testimony electronically in advance to iudiciarv@dccouncil.us. For witnesses who are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be submitted to the Committee at iudiciarv@,dccouncil.us. The record will close at the end of the business day on Thursday, October 17. 2