For those who wonder why some gun owners can feel persecuted in certain places. Especially those places that have a history of anti gun laws so egregious and unconstitutional, the Supreme Court overcame a century of reluctance and ruled against them. The very same city that pondered prosecuting a journalist for using an empty magazine to make a point in a television report. A city that did charge a man who saved a child’s life from a violent dog with a gun that had not been locally registered. Whatever you think of guns, you probably understand an empty magazine absent a gun, and an empty brass cartridge is no threat to anyone or anything.

Washington police are operating under orders to arrest tourists and other non-residents traveling with spent bullet or shotgun casings, a crime that carries a $1,000 fine, a year in jail and a criminal record, according to a new book about the city’s confusing gun laws.

“Empty shell casings are considered ammunition in Washington, D.C., so they are illegal to possess unless you are a resident and have a gun registration certificate,” pens Emily Miller in her investigative book, “Emily Gets Her Gun: … But Obama Wants to Take Yours.”

Under the law, live or empty brass and plastic casings must be carried in a special container and unavailable to drivers. Having one, for example, in a cup holder or ash tray is illegal.

She told Secrets that the police are “under orders to arrest tourists or other legal gun owners from out of state who wouldn’t think to empty brass and plastic from their cars or pockets.”

More: Warning: D.C. Cops Under Orders to Arrest Tourists With Empty Bullet Casings