House Passes DC Gun Rights Legislation

[WhiteFeather]

House Passes DC Gun Rights Legislation

by Dave Workman, Senior Editor

Voting 266-152, the House of Representatives with 181 Republicans and 85 Democrats in the majority passed a bill from which the original language was stripped and in its place was substituted strong pro-gun language authored by a freshman Democrat from Mississippi.

The "National Capital Security and Safety Act" was passed despite a last-minute effort by the District of Columbia City Council to amend its own restrictive handgun registration regulations before Congress stepped in and took over gun regulation in the city. The city had originally adopted an ordinance allowing the registration of only revolvers, while still banning semi-automatic handguns and requiring trigger locks. The high court ruling in the Heller decision specifically noted that requiring trigger locks, to prevent the gun from being used until it is required for self-defense, is unconstitutional.

Some 50 Democrats signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, authored by Mississippi Rep. Travis Childers, that became the substitute language of the original HR 6842, which had been introduced by anti-gun Washington, DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. She subsequently ended up opposing the measure with her name on it, even though as a delegate to the House, she cannot vote.

The bill, which still must pass the Senate and be signed by President George Bush, removes semiauto*matic firearms from the District's long-standing defini*tion of a machinegun. It also strips authority from the city council to regulate gun ownership, including a requirement that firearms be registered. The legislation also allows District residents to purchase handguns in neighboring Virginia and Maryland, while allowing the possession of unregistered firearms.

The city's effort to head off this House bill included a similar provision allowing semi-autos and removing them from the definition of "machinegun," according to The Washington Times. The city's ordinance still limits magazine capacity to 10 rounds.

The House measure, which had the support of the National Rifle Association, was in direct response to the deliberately complicated regulations initially adopted by the city after it lost the landmark Heller case that struck down the city's handgun ban. Not only did those first regulations enrage gunowners all over the country, they angered pro-gun members of Con*gress in both parties.

However, passage of the legislation in the House does not guarantee the bill will become law. What the vote did accomplish was give several Democrats from conservative districts the ability to campaign as pro-gunners in tight races.

That much was recognized by the Second Amend*ment Foundation, which cautioned Democrats against feeling too smug about touting this single vote.

"Those Democrats are fully aware that chances of this bill getting through the Senate during this session of Congress are virtually nil," said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb, "but this issue gave them a chance to cast a pro-gun vote they can brag about on the campaign trail. You can bet your gun collection that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will block a vote on this."

Gottlieb also blasted the District council for essen*tially creating the problem and then scrambling to provide a fix before Congress stepped in.

He lauded the House for having "rightfully assumed responsibility for enforcing the Second Amendment in our nation's capitol city."

However, he was far less cordial to five Washington state Democrats who all voted against the bill. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms took to task Reps. Dicks, McDermott, Inslee, Larsen and Smith, all of whom joined a majority of Democrats to oppose the measure. In all, 145 Demo*crats and 7 liberal Republicans voted against the bill.
The New GUN WEEK, October 15, 2008

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Pennsylvania
NayPA-1Brady, Robert [D]
NayPA-2Fattah, Chaka [D]
AyePA-3English, Philip [R]
AyePA-4Altmire, Jason [D]
AyePA-5Peterson, John [R]
AyePA-6Gerlach, Jim [R]
NayPA-7Sestak, Joe [D]
AyePA-8Murphy, Patrick [D]
AyePA-9Shuster, William [R]
AyePA-10Carney, Christopher [D]
AyePA-11Kanjorski, Paul [D]
AyePA-12Murtha, John [D]
NayPA-13Schwartz, Allyson [D]
NayPA-14Doyle, Michael [D]
AyePA-15Dent, Charles [R]
No VotePA-16Pitts, Joseph [R]
AyePA-17Holden, Tim [D]
AyePA-18Murphy, Tim [R]
AyePA-19Platts, Todd [R]