D.C. Metro system says it follows local gun carry laws
Stephen Gutowski for the Washington Free Beacon reports:
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has no internal policy on the carrying of firearms within its system and follows the laws of the jurisdictions it operates in, according to a spokesman.
“We are governed by the laws of each jurisdiction,” said Mike Tolbert, a WMATA spokesman, when asked if the transit authority had its own policy regarding gun carry.
The clarification comes after Chairman Phil Mendelson (D.) of the D.C. city council responded to gun rights groups critical of a recent fatal stabbing on Metro by saying that removing the city’s statutory ban against carry on the public transit system would have no effect on carry within the system.
The law, as revised last fall, gives property owners the right to prohibit carrying on their premises,” Mendelson said via email. “WMATA contacted the council prior to our action on the legislation last fall to ask that their premises be off-limits to carrying. WMATA (buses, rail, etc.) was then added to the list. If we were to act to remove WMATA from the list, the effect would be unaffected.”
However, the Virginia State Police, the Maryland State Police, and WMATA all confirmed that gun carry in the system is legal within those states so long as the carrier has the proper permit.
Read the full story at the Free Beacon.
