sm
member
D.C.
http://www.talonnews.com/news/2003/october/1014_dc_guns.shtml
Congress Addresses Gun Ban in D.C.
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
October 14, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced similar legislation in Congress that would reestablish the Second Amendment right to bear arms for the citizens of the District of Columbia.
"The District of Columbia Personal Protection Act," or H.R. 3191, which currently has 111 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle would reverse the ban on guns in the District of Columbia, which has one of the strongest anti-gun laws in the United States.
The current prohibition on firearms in the nation's capital disallows law-abiding citizens from owning a handgun and severely limits the use of a rifle.
"The District of Columbia is a failed laboratory experiment for gun control," Souder contended in defense of his bill. "It has one of the most comprehensive bans on firearms in the nation, and it also has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation."
Souder says the connection between the crime rate and citizens not being able to defend themselves in the District of Columbia is clear.
"In 2002, [the District of Columbia] had the highest per capita crime rate of any city in the nation," he cited. "This is not a coincidence."
Souder argues that the Second Amendment rights of people who live in the District of Columbia are being unconstitutionally denied.
"The citizens of the District of Columbia have the same constitutional rights as the rest of us, and one of those rights is the right to bear firearms," Souder exclaimed. "We shall not allow their right to protect themselves and their property be trampled on any longer."
The Hatch bill, or S. 1414, introduced in the Senate in July would do the same thing as the Souder bill in the House.
"It is time to restore the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and to defend their families against murderous predators," Hatch, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated on the floor of the Senate. "It is time to tell the citizens of the District of Columbia that the Second Amendment of the Constitution applies to them, and not only to their fellow Americans in the rest of the country."
Hatch added, "The prohibition of firearms in the District of Columbia is as ineffective and deplorable as it is unconstitutional; it is high-time we rectify this wrong."
Specifically, this law would restore the rights of the citizens to own and possess a handgun or rifle in their home or place of business, repeal firearm registration requirements, get rid of criminal sentences for possessing firearms, allow the possession of semi-automatic weapons and ammunition, permit a loaded gun to be stored in a home or place of business, and eradicate the penalty for carrying a handgun in a home or place of business.
The House version of the bill is currently under consideration by the House Committee on Government Reform. The Senate version, which presently has 24 co-sponsors, has been referred to the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.
http://www.talonnews.com/news/2003/october/1014_dc_guns.shtml
Congress Addresses Gun Ban in D.C.
By Jimmy Moore
Talon News
October 14, 2003
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- Rep. Mark Souder (R-IN) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) have introduced similar legislation in Congress that would reestablish the Second Amendment right to bear arms for the citizens of the District of Columbia.
"The District of Columbia Personal Protection Act," or H.R. 3191, which currently has 111 co-sponsors from both sides of the aisle would reverse the ban on guns in the District of Columbia, which has one of the strongest anti-gun laws in the United States.
The current prohibition on firearms in the nation's capital disallows law-abiding citizens from owning a handgun and severely limits the use of a rifle.
"The District of Columbia is a failed laboratory experiment for gun control," Souder contended in defense of his bill. "It has one of the most comprehensive bans on firearms in the nation, and it also has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation."
Souder says the connection between the crime rate and citizens not being able to defend themselves in the District of Columbia is clear.
"In 2002, [the District of Columbia] had the highest per capita crime rate of any city in the nation," he cited. "This is not a coincidence."
Souder argues that the Second Amendment rights of people who live in the District of Columbia are being unconstitutionally denied.
"The citizens of the District of Columbia have the same constitutional rights as the rest of us, and one of those rights is the right to bear firearms," Souder exclaimed. "We shall not allow their right to protect themselves and their property be trampled on any longer."
The Hatch bill, or S. 1414, introduced in the Senate in July would do the same thing as the Souder bill in the House.
"It is time to restore the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and to defend their families against murderous predators," Hatch, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, stated on the floor of the Senate. "It is time to tell the citizens of the District of Columbia that the Second Amendment of the Constitution applies to them, and not only to their fellow Americans in the rest of the country."
Hatch added, "The prohibition of firearms in the District of Columbia is as ineffective and deplorable as it is unconstitutional; it is high-time we rectify this wrong."
Specifically, this law would restore the rights of the citizens to own and possess a handgun or rifle in their home or place of business, repeal firearm registration requirements, get rid of criminal sentences for possessing firearms, allow the possession of semi-automatic weapons and ammunition, permit a loaded gun to be stored in a home or place of business, and eradicate the penalty for carrying a handgun in a home or place of business.
The House version of the bill is currently under consideration by the House Committee on Government Reform. The Senate version, which presently has 24 co-sponsors, has been referred to the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.
