Just going by the title of this article you might think that Hot Air has suddenly switched over to a short story science fiction format, but it’s apparently true. Fox 5 DC reporter Emily Miller has been on a personal journey for some time now as the Supreme Court has attempted to force the district to honor their judgements and begin issuing carry permits for gun owners. She first had to clear all of the hurdles to actually obtain a weapon, but she could not legally take it out of her home for the most part. And now, after hacking her way through a bureaucratic jungle, Ms. Miller has done what seemed impossible. She’s been approved for a permit to carry.

I applied for a permit as soon as the law went into effect. At the end of October, I went to the firearms registration office at police headquarters. Milton Agurs, who works in the office, explained to me that few people will pass muster to get a permit.

“Your life is in danger, your family or your property, or you have the type of business you carry large sums of money, jewelry. Under those circumstances, that’s why you get conceal carry in the District of Columbia,” he said.

I got the police reports from two different threats against me, as well as an FBI warning that a terror group is targeting journalists. I turned in my application at the end of November. I dropped off my application in the permit office. I paid the non-refundable $75 fee. Then I just had to wait because Police Chief Cathy Lanier has 90 days to decide on carry applications. I didn’t hear anything until early February. Sgt. Hall called to investigate claims of “special dangers” before he met with the chief about my application.

Keep in mind, any American can apply for a D.C. gun permit. But so far, only 76 have done so. Thirty-one were denied. Five cancelled their own applications. And 16 were approved.

I was shocked to hear that I am the 15th person the police chief approved for a carry permit.

First of all, congratulations to Emily. That’s quite the achievement. Her story raises a number of questions, however. How is it that only 76 people have even applied for a permit thus far? We can probably take a stab at that one. First, they’ve made the compliance requirements so insanely high that the majority of people considering it have likely just read the rules and walked away in disgust. There is a new case currently before a judge to see if these new restrictions can be thrown out for setting such a high bar to ownership, but for the moment the rules are what they are. How many people can legitimately “prove” to the authorities that their lives are in immediate danger? And what on Earth does that have to do with the right to carry?

They’ve also attached huge fees to the process, not just to apply, but to pay for the required training and other paperwork. Most of it is non-refundable. Lots of folks aren’t going to sink that kind of cash into a process where you will almost surely fail by design.

The second question – and it’s one which the reporter asks herself – is why her? Why was she selected to be one of less than a dozen and a half lucky winners in the Second Amendment lottery? Miller argues that it’s because she had two death threats which were documented as being investigated. That’s fair enough, but in the internet age there are probably lots of people who could make the claim. Could it be that the authorities know that she’s a reporter and are hoping she’ll write something favorable about the process if they let her slide through?

That one can be left for speculation. In the meantime, here is her video report. Enjoy.

DC News FOX 5 DC WTTG