Majority of Hill Stands Against D.C. Gun Ban

[Cavalier Knight]

A majority of the Senate and more than half of the members of the House will file a brief today urging the Supreme Court to uphold a ruling that the District's handgun ban violates the Second Amendment.

Full story at:

LINK

Representatives from NY signing onto the brief were:

Michael Arcuri (D-24)
Kirsten Gillibrand (D-20)
Brian Higgins (D-27)
J. Randy Kuhl, Jr. (R-29)
John McHugh (R-23)
Thomas Reynolds (R-26)
James Walsh (R-25)

Jacob J. Rieper, Legislative Director
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association
http://www.nysrpa.org
http://www.rpa-pac.org
Yahoo! Messenger ID: nyrkba

 

[Prof. A. Wickwire]

After seeing this list and reading the article, I sent a thank you note to my representative, Kirsten Gillibrand.

Just as we send letters suggesting (or urging) action we need to remember to thank our representatives when they take action.

Sincerely,

Prof. A. Wickwire

 

[ArmedBear]

Where were these autostimulators when they had a chance to VOTE on this?

That really IS their job, not telling another independent branch of the Federal Government what they want it to do.

 

[hnk45acp]

I'll have to write them a letter of thanks

 

[LAR-15]

There NEVER WAS a chance to vote on it in the US Senate.

It WAS voted on in the US House in 2004.

 

[nezumi]

So... the 'vote freedom first' Republican president is the DC handgun ban and the largely Democrat Congress is pushing against it, led by New York?

At least Maryland supported the ban... Good to know there's some stability in my world.

 

[Langenator]

A few thoughts on this:

1) It's at least partly election year posturing/positioning. I'm willing to bet that neither Hillary nor Obama signed on, but McCain sure did.

2) Congress is trying to get SCOTUS to do the dirty work for them so they don't have to get their hands dirty on a controversial issue. The signatories form a majority of both houses, which means, since the Constitution grants Congress authority over the Federal district, they could kill the law themselves and render the whole thing moot if they wanted to. (Although, conceivably, since they only have 55 Senators, a filibuster would be possible.)

3) I think the brief needs to be read for to see what it actually says, especially if some of the signatories are saying things like this:

Hutchison and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), who spoke at a Heritage Foundation event yesterday, said the court could find D.C.'s law unconstitutional without another trip through the courts and without endangering Congress's ability to pass other gun control legislation, such as banning assault weapons.

So they're saying that it's the DC Council, whose powers were delegated to it by Congress, can't ban pistols, but Congress can ban assault weapons. Can someone explain that logic to me?

 

[green-grizzly]

http://www.gurapossessky.com/news/parker/documents/07-290bsacMembersUSSenate.pdf
I kept getting errors when trying to load it in IE, and finally had to save it to my hard drive.

It does mention the ban on machineguns, but I don't see any reference to the AWB.

Dick Cheney signed it too.

 

[LAR-15]

Who says McCain is anti gun?

I'm not claiming to be a McCain supporter but I'm not surprised he signed on.

 

[Langenator]

The question is, does he really believe it, or is he trying to shore up his credibility for the election?

 

[Winchester 73]

The question is, does he really believe it, or is he trying to shore up his credibility for the election?

Well,there is always the alternative.

 

[Seminole]

Hypocrites!

 

[ctdonath]

but Congress can ban assault weapons. Can someone explain that logic to me?

A running theme in this round for Heller is everyone involved trying to assure the Supreme Court (and constituents) that the really scary guns can still be regulated into oblivion. There is a theory that SCOTUS won't rule our way if the ruling will likely plunge society into chaos. Certainly many/most politicians voicing pro-gun favor in this case will similarly try to assure their constituents that they are still firmly on everyone's preferred side of the issue.

 

[Cavalier Knight]

Cheney Joins Congress In Opposing D.C. Gun Ban

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=338237

 

[RealGun]

1) It's at least partly election year posturing/positioning. - Langenator

I did the analysis for the Senate and find three GOP Senators with poor ratings that are in fact vulnerable to competitive elections in 2008, are list anomalies as normally anti-gun, and may well be "posturing". Those are Stevens - AL, Collins - ME, and Smith - OR.

Only Class II Senate seats are up for election. Of those who signed the brief, 20 Republicans and 2 Democrats are Class II. All of the House seats are up for election.