About DC registration process -- not too terrible

I am writing this post to inform those in Washington DC who wish to own guns but are discouraged by the process, which I have just gone through.

Contrary to what a lot of people say, it's not insufferably bureaucratic but then again, that depends on your threshold of tolerance.

1. Needless to say, dealer familiarity with the process is proportional to the proximity to DC. They will know what you can and can't have in DC (e.g. max 10 round magazine). If you go to a nearby shop (such as Cabela's in Gainesville or NOVA Firearms or Silver Eagle Group) they will likely have all the info of the FFL they need to ship it to, which is CS Exchange. You complete your transaction with the dealer, they ship it to the FFL.

2. Charles Sykes of CS Exchange, conveniently located in the courthouse, calls you when he receives the merchandise to set up an appointment for you to come in and fill the paperwork. All you need is your DL and, in the case of permanent resident, your green card (which does not make the process any more complicated). If it is your first registration, you will also need to watch a safety video on the police web site and print a certificate at the end.

3. You come in (he takes appointments daily 11-2, which sucks for 9-5-ers but oh well). You fill out the paperwork and pay him $125 per item. Then he sends you upstairs to the police office in the same building (courthouse) to fill out their paperwork (much shorter), take a picture and fingerprints, if it is your first registration. You pay $48 if it is your first time, only $13 after as they have your fingerprints and background check already.

4. When your background check is ready (1 day in my case), police call you to inform you and to tell you to call Sykes again to set up an appointment to pick up. And... FINALLY

5. On your 2nd visit, you go back upstairs to the police office to pick up your firearm registration ID, which has your picture, name, address and item info, you take it down to Sykes, he gives you your merchandise.

Yes, it's more paperwork than in most of the rest of the country. Yes, the fees are expensive. No, it's not insufferable and shouldn't deter you from your constitutional rights. I thought both Sykes and the police folk were decent people not difficult to work with.

Any suggestions how to improve this set of guidelines are welcome. I'll leave it to the admin if they want to put this in some sort of FYI section.