Nearly three years after the United States Supreme Court overturned the D.C.
ban on handguns, residents of the District can no longer register guns in the city.

A temporary, de facto ban is in place because the one man who could facilitate handgun ownership in the nation's capital has stopped taking registration orders.

Since the lifting of the handgun ban in June 2008, Charles Sykes has processed more than 1,000 handguns for District residents. Sykes tells WTOP he's stopped taking orders for now.

"I've lost my lease," Sykes said in a phone interview. "I'll take care of the customers who already placed orders, but I don't want to take any more until I know where I will reopen."

Sykes is the sole proprietor of C S Exchange, the only licensed firearm dealer in the city that will transfer guns for individuals. Sykes doesn't sell the guns -- there are no gun stores in D.C. His company facilitates the transfer of guns from out of state stores into the District for a fee of $125 per gun.

Federal law prohibits individuals from buying handguns in one state and transferring them to another state. That can only be facilitated by a licensed firearm dealer. Since the District has no gun stores, transfers are the only means for residents to buy and register their handguns. Rifles and shotguns are exempt from this law.

Lane is now suing the federal government and the state of Virginia, which is where she bought her handguns and where they remain.

In a complaint filed this week in federal court, Lane and a gun rights advocacy group, the Second Amendment Foundation, claim their constitutional rights have been violated.

"These provisions not only have the effect of barring District of Columbia residents from acquiring handguns, but also, generally, unjustifiably frustrate and make more expensive all Americans' attempts to obtain the handguns of their choice," the complaint says.