House, Senate Introduce Bills to Take Down D.C. Gun Laws

[onehandle]

Source: NBC

A week after D.C. residents were denied representation in Congress in favor of saving its gun laws, senators and representatives on Tuesday announced similar bills to overturn those laws, too.

The Second Amendment Enforcement Act would overturn D.C.'s ban on semiautomatic weapons, the city's requirement that guns be stored unloaded and disassembled, and the registration requirements, WTOP.com reported. The bill also would allow D.C. residents to buy guns and ammo in Maryland and Virginia.

snip...

“The homicide rate in the District of Columbia is the lowest it has been in more than 40 years due to the hard work of the Metropolitan Police Department along with the assistance of community members all over the District," the mayor said. "Any provisions that would permit more guns in the District would be a major step backward for public safety in the nation's capital.”

McCain and Tester argue D.C. failed to follow a Supreme Court directive to fully update firearms laws.

Read more: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Senators-Plan-to-Introduce-Bill-Taking-Down-DC-Gun-Laws-92221129.html

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After introducing a 'poison pill' to kill D.C.'s chance of representation, the NRA, Republicans and Blue Dogs still seeks to impose their will on the inhabitants.

[leeloo]

1. You consider the 2nd Amendment a poison pill?

The Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects a right to keep and bear arms.<1> The Second Amendment was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[cowman]

6. Wow

thats real progressive of you. So you believe that the 2nd Amend doesn't count? But saying to another DU'er to shove it is protected by the 1st Amend which you obviously believe. Well guess what? The 2nd is a right whether you like it or not so deal with it

[leeloo]

7. Interesting i believe and support the constitution and you call me condescending.

Care to explain?

[sharesunited]

8. The willful and grievous misinterpretation of the 2A is the frustrating problem.

Gun love is waaaayyyy too indulged in this country. There is no adequate justification for it.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

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[christx30]

13. Really?

I saw a story on the Nebraska forum about two robbers that went into a Walmart with a shotgun to rob it today. One of them was pointing his weapon at someone when he was shot to death by someone in the crowd with a concealed carry license. All in all, it was a good ending to a horrible story.
I think that's adequate justification for having a weapon.

[sam sarrha]

16. crimson trace is essential.. dont have to take your eyes off the target to aim. i have that in my

S&W 637. real nice. especially if you wear bifocals

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

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[sharesunited]

15. That anger is off the hook son. Surrender your weapon.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

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[bowens43]

9. notice how the gun people always conveniently leave out

the part about the 'well regulated militia'. There is no constitutionally protected right for individuals to own guns. The founding fathers would be appalled at the bastardization of the 2nd that is pushed by the NRA and the other death machine advocates.

[Hoopla Phil]

10. Please see "Heller" for the definitions of both "well regulated" and "militia". It is

very well cited by what the "founding fathers" said about them and intended. Please read it with an open mind as you have obviously been misinformed, and believe it.

[onehandle]

19. Look to SCOTUS to install an unelected President. nt

[Hoopla Phil]

21. So do you have a legitimate grievance with the

citations in the "Heller decision"? The Founding Fathers were rather to the point on what the 2A meant. Were the citations in error? Were they made up? Or do you simply refuse to see them because you do not agree with them?

[conservdem]

34. Do you have a respnse to Hoopla Phil's reply question in post 21?

[sam sarrha]

20. Tobacco kills 1200 people a day,1080 addicted as children, 540 of those 12 an under, so what is so

important about if i have a gun in my home. only fascist oligarchs want an unarmed population to terrorize..

what about the 1080 people a day who lived a horrible life of addiction begun as children.. so rich people could profit from their suffering. doesn't your OCD gun problem pale just a little. where are our priorities. i am not a problem because i have a gun. people selling addictive poison to children is a problem,

the bottom 08% americans hold only 7% of the financial wealth in america, top 1% hold 37% 0f the wealth.. is that a worse problem than a gun in my home..??

this is a divide an conquer subject.. don't be a fly'n monkey of some oligarch to occupy the conversation away from real problems.

[Zoeisright]

38. Strawman!

Do you understand logical reasoning? Of course those are horrible things too. But citing them is not a defense of the 29,569 people killed by guns in 2004 in this country.

Grow up and start using your brain for a change.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

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[X_Digger]

39. And the first only covers printing presses, not computers, eh?

Why do people not think these things through?

[Toots]

26. The ONLY amendment to say "well regulated"

Are you opposed to that part of the amendment?

[Hoopla Phil]

30. "well regulated" in context means - meeting for muster to drill and keeping like arms.

You are applying the wrong definition of "regulated". Clocks are "regulated" to keep proper time. The militia is "regulated" to all have the same equipment and know how to use it. The militia would be very ineffective if they all used different types of ammo and non-compatible equipment wouldn't they. It also holds to reason that if the militia is called up for service they show up with the same equipment that the regulars use.

[Toots]

36. So is everyone that now owns a gun in a "well regulated" militia?

Well regulated means exactly what it says. In any context it is not being followed..

[proteus_lives]

27. Nohandle isn't fond of our rights or people protecting themselves.

He's the very definition of an authoritarian.

[leeloo]

29. Yeah i notice that,who do they expect to protect them?

You can call the Police and maybe just maybe they can be at your house in 10mins,i would consider that 9 mins 59 secs to late..

[X_Digger]

31. Which is funny, since DC has already abdicated any responsibility

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_v._District_of_Columbia

Warren v. District of Columbia (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981) is a U.S. Court of Appeals case in which three rape victims sued the District of Columbia because of negligence on the part of the police. Two of three female roommates were upstairs when they heard men break in and attack the third. After repeated calls to the police over half an hour, the roommate's screams stopped, and they assumed the police had arrived. They went downstairs and were held captive, raped, robbed, beaten, and forced to commit sexual acts upon one another and to submit to the attackers' sexual demands for 14 hours. The police had lost track of the repeated calls for assistance. DC's highest court ruled that the police do not have a legal responsibility to provide personal protection to individuals, and absolved the police and the city of any liability.

[leeloo]

32. I remember that what a horrible crime..

[Grassy Knoll]

2. One big problem.........

President Obama .

[DavidDvorkin]

3. Bastards.

[X_Digger]

5. "homicide rate.. lowest in 40 years".. still six times the national average.

http://mpdc.dc.gov/mpdc/cwp/view,a,1239,q,547256,mpdcNav_GID,1556.asp

US overall: 5.6/100k (2008)

2008 DC murder rate 31.43/100k (2008)

compare to:
NYC: 6.27
Los Angeles: 9.97
Dallas: 13.32
Miami: 14.73
Richmond: 15.53
Chicago: 18.03
Atlanta: 19.70
Memphis: 20.53
Philadelphia: 22.97
Newark: 23.95
Oakland: 28.64
Baltimore: 36.88


http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/index.html

[russ1943]

23. Another perspective.

DC’s 31.4 is certainly nothing to be proud of, but you only included one city Baltimore, Md that had a murder rate that was higher at 36.8.
You could provide a different perspective if you were to compare it to, say, Camden, NJ. At over 70.
Or any of another dozen or so cities whose murder rates were higher than DC’s, like New Orleans’ 63.
See St. Louis, Mo. Irvington, NJ, Gary, In Youngstown, Oh,,etc. etc. etc etc
I guess it depends on your motive.

US’s Overall murders per 100,000 in 2008 was 5.4 according to FBI’s UCR
http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/violent_crime/murder_homicide.html

[X_Digger]

25. That was filtered for population > = 500k..

Why compare apples (Gary, Indiana @ 95,699, NOLA @ 281,440) to oranges (DC @ 591,833)?

[sam sarrha]

12. criminals don't buy guns legally.. people who buy guns legally should be required to take a safety/

and handling class first.. prove proficiency. i have a CCP and a 38 special with +P Air Marshal AP ammo in it on me, always.. i have to watch the dogs when i take them out to pee. Coyotes are a real problem here. 1/2 the population don't feel safe to go to down town. 2 junkies have OD'd within 2 blocks of my house. there are at least 60 rabid animal attacks each summer, i have deep woods on 2 sides of my house. i gave 9mm autos in touch lock safes on each end of my house. i'm not going to rob someone with a gun.

i've taken safety classes, training when i was a Parole Officer.. there are a lot of sick psycho's out there, i'm obviously disabled and elderly.. an apparent east mark.. but i'm not.

the only people gun laws take guns from are law abiding citizens.. who want to protect their families. you have to get a permit here to buy a pistol, background check, etc. CCP requires finger printing.

[X_Digger]

17. I would recommend it (and I've taught a few myself,) but I wouldn't require it.

Those most likely to need to use a gun for self-protection are least likely to a) be able to afford the class, and b) be able to take time off work to shuttle paperwork to the police station to prove completion of such a class.

(And let's not get into who approves the class, and how a corrupt administration could raise that bar to effectively bar ownership while still technically following the letter of the law.)

[Hoopla Phil]

22. And would you require a person to pass a knowledge test before voting?

Prior restraint is at odds with the most basic tenants of a free society.

[sam sarrha]

33. voting doesnt have lethal consequences using a ballot unless you vote GOP, a drivers liscence is

required for a car and a test,

[Hoopla Phil]

35. A test in order to exercise a civil right is wrong no matter the right. A drivers

license (and the test that goes with it) is required to drive on public streets - NOT private property. I will consed that your car analogy is correct should a person wish to carry in public. A test and license to do so would not be unreasonable in my opinion. 40 some odd states now have such a system in place.

[Ter]

24. Un-recommended for contaminating the story with anti-gun BS

The Constitution supersedes the "will of the inhabitants."

[saigon68]

28. Lots of love in this thread

I'm book marking it for use "AFTER" the next election

[onenote]

40. I doubt that Pelosi or Reid will be moving these bills along very quickly

In all likelihood, the only way this bill gets to the House floor is through a discharge petition.