Colombian lawmakers issued weapons for self defense

[Ironbarr]

Hmmm.

During the ESPN House passing of the DC ban repeal - after the vote - one senator stood up and asked if removing the ban would then allow concealed weapons on the floor of the senate. The Columbians seem to have beat the senate to it, huh?

BOGOTA, Sept. 29 (Xinhuanet) -- The Colombian Congress on Wednesday issued 150 pistols and 45 submachine guns to some of its members for self-defense, according to the legislature.

The weapons will be used only for personal security of congressmembers and will be under the responsibility of themselves.

The speaker of the Lower House of Congress, Zulema Jattin, said the move was made in response to security threats against legislators.

Some congressmen welcomed such a measure and accepted the weapons, but several others refused the guns, saying the measure was against the pacifist spirit.

Colombia has been locked in a four-decade civil war, the longest in Latin America, in which government forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitaries fight one another. The conflicts kill more than 3,500 people each year. Enditem

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-09/30/content_2041104.htm