H.R. 4788: To require the District of Columbia to permit Members of Congress who have a valid license or permit which is issued pursuant to the law of a State which permits the Member to carry a concealed firearm, or who is otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in the State in which the Member resides, to carry a concealed firearm in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.

H.R. 4788 does one thing: it forces the District of Columbia to let qualifying Members of Congress carry concealed handguns inside the city, even though D.C.'s own pistol law would otherwise prohibit it.

Not every lawmaker automatically qualifies. A Member has to clear three conditions. Federal law can't already bar them from having a firearm — the same disqualifiers that apply to anyone, like certain criminal convictions. They need a valid concealed-carry permit issued by a state, or to live in a state that lets them carry concealed without one. And they have to be carrying photo ID.

The bill spells out exactly who counts as a "Member of Congress": Senators, Representatives, the non-voting Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. The non-voting members get the same treatment as full voting members.

There's no phase-in. The exemption kicks in the day the bill is signed — no waiting period, no implementation deadline for D.C., and no money attached. And it stops where it starts. The carve-out covers Members of Congress and no one else: a constituent visiting from the same state with the same permit would still be subject to D.C.'s pistol rules.