Waitone
Member
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=8946084
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives dealt a blow to Washington, D.C.'s strict gun control law on Thursday when it passed an amendment that would effectively allow fully assembled rifles and pre-1976 handguns to be kept in city homes.
The amendment to an appropriations bill for federal subsidies for the District of Columbia prohibits the funds from being used to enforce certain sections of the city's 29-year-old gun control law.
Passed by a vote of 259-161, the measure submitted by Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Souder does not go as far as his recently introduced legislation to revoke Washington's 1976 ban on handguns and semiautomatic weapons, but it indicates continuing strong House support for such a measure.
The House voted by a similar margin last year to revoke the capital's handgun ban, but the measure went nowhere because the Senate failed to act.
A new hand gun repeal bill in the Senate, sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, may gain more support this year, but its success is far from certain.
The House vote came just two days after Mayor Anthony Williams told a House committee the Souder bill was "a slap in the face to me and the people who live in this city."
City officials argue that Washington, with its chronically high murder rate, will see gun crime rise further if guns are allowed to be freely sold and kept in the city.
Currently, rifles and shotguns and handguns registered before the 1976 ban may be kept in District homes only if they are unloaded, disassembled and stored in a locked cabinet.
Souder argued that this makes them useless for self-defense and his amendment prohibits the city from enforcing this law with federal funds.
His bill would roll back the handgun ban and registration requirements for ammunition and would decriminalize possession of unregistered weapons. Similar legislation has been proposed by Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
"I believe the constitutional right to bear arms supersedes local authority," Souder said in favor of his amendment.
Opponents argued unsuccessfully that constitutional provisions for home rule should prevail. Rep. Tom Davis, a Republican from northern Virginia who is often supportive of D.C. policies, said he agreed with the right to bear arms, but "it really goes to respecting the rights of the District of Columbia to make their laws."
"Once we start doing everything out of Washington, it may be on your side tomorrow," Davis said.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives dealt a blow to Washington, D.C.'s strict gun control law on Thursday when it passed an amendment that would effectively allow fully assembled rifles and pre-1976 handguns to be kept in city homes.
The amendment to an appropriations bill for federal subsidies for the District of Columbia prohibits the funds from being used to enforce certain sections of the city's 29-year-old gun control law.
Passed by a vote of 259-161, the measure submitted by Indiana Republican Rep. Mark Souder does not go as far as his recently introduced legislation to revoke Washington's 1976 ban on handguns and semiautomatic weapons, but it indicates continuing strong House support for such a measure.
The House voted by a similar margin last year to revoke the capital's handgun ban, but the measure went nowhere because the Senate failed to act.
A new hand gun repeal bill in the Senate, sponsored by Texas Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, may gain more support this year, but its success is far from certain.
The House vote came just two days after Mayor Anthony Williams told a House committee the Souder bill was "a slap in the face to me and the people who live in this city."
City officials argue that Washington, with its chronically high murder rate, will see gun crime rise further if guns are allowed to be freely sold and kept in the city.
Currently, rifles and shotguns and handguns registered before the 1976 ban may be kept in District homes only if they are unloaded, disassembled and stored in a locked cabinet.
Souder argued that this makes them useless for self-defense and his amendment prohibits the city from enforcing this law with federal funds.
His bill would roll back the handgun ban and registration requirements for ammunition and would decriminalize possession of unregistered weapons. Similar legislation has been proposed by Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas.
"I believe the constitutional right to bear arms supersedes local authority," Souder said in favor of his amendment.
Opponents argued unsuccessfully that constitutional provisions for home rule should prevail. Rep. Tom Davis, a Republican from northern Virginia who is often supportive of D.C. policies, said he agreed with the right to bear arms, but "it really goes to respecting the rights of the District of Columbia to make their laws."
"Once we start doing everything out of Washington, it may be on your side tomorrow," Davis said.
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
