NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill

As a follow up to the news that NRA managed to hammer out a deal with Congress to stop the gun registration shenanigans by Mayor Fenty and the DC Council, they have a released this statement:

Today, in a bi-partisan effort, Congressman Travis Childers, Congressmen John Dingell, John Tanner, Mike Ross and Mark Souder, along with 47 of their colleagues, introduced the Second Amendment Enforcement Act. This critical legislation overturns D.C.’s recently enacted emergency laws that continue to defy the recent Supreme Court ruling by continuing to restrict District of Columbia residents’ right to self-defense. This National Rifle Association-backed bill is needed to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller.

On June 26, the U. S. Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that “the District’s ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense.” The Supreme Court clearly stated that handguns are constitutionally-protected arms because they are commonly used, are typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, are considered by the American people to be the quintessential self-defense weapon, are the most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense in the home and are the most preferred firearm in the nation to keep and use for protection of home and family.

The Second Amendment Enforcement Act will:

* Repeal the District’s ban on semi-automatic handguns. Semi-automatic pistols have been the most commonly purchased handguns in the United States over the last 20 years, and therefore a ban on those firearms is unconstitutional as decided by Heller;

* Restore the right of self-defense by repealing the requirement that firearms be disassembled or secured with a trigger lock in the home;

* Repeal the current D.C. registration system that requires multiple visits to police headquarters; ballistics testing; passing a written test on D.C. gun laws; fingerprinting; and limiting registration to one handgun per 90 days. The current system is unduly burdensome and serves as a vehicle for even more onerous restrictions; and

* Create a limited exemption to the federal ban on interstate handgun sales by allowing D.C. residents to purchase handguns in Virginia and Maryland. Currently there are no firearms dealers in the District of Columbia, and the federal ban prohibits residents from purchasing handguns outside of the District; therefore, District residents have no means of purchasing handguns.

15 thoughts on “NRA Statement on New DC Gun Bill”

  1. This will, as I indicated previously, probably moot the Heller II lawsuit.

    OTOH, I kind of wish Congress had kept its powder dry, if only so that we could get some additional precedent that DC’s shenanigans were out of bounds.

  2. Lets keep an eye open and see who votes against this. Especially keep an eye on the senator from IL.

  3. Lets keep an eye open and see who votes against this. Especially keep an eye on the senator from IL.

    I don’t think it is a big deal that we lost an opportunity to retry Heller with a slightly different law. The next big enchilada is incorporation. Then the fun really starts.

  4. way i see it, this one is actually good… this establishes the precedent that the 2nd amendment is so incredibly important that the congress felt it necessary to step in and overrule the city council of DC… leaves a lot open for interpretation when it comes to incorporation rulings

  5. It was smart to take both tracks… to both seek redress through lawsuit and through Congress. Congress is the faster and less risky route, if you can get it done. If you can’t, there’s the lawsuit. I would expect this is going to be NRA’s strategy going forward (legislation then lawsuit) and it’s probably the smart one.

  6. Presumably yes. My guess is the Blue Dogs twisted leaderships’ arms, and the deal was that they could have their way, as long as it was a Democrat effort rather than a Republican effort. It’s pure election year politics.

  7. One can’t help but wonder where this leaves carry laws for “Carry Permit Holders” from the several states.

  8. Repeal the current D.C. registration system that requires multiple visits to police headquarters; ballistics testing; passing a written test on D.C. gun laws; fingerprinting; and limiting registration to one handgun per 90 days. The current system is unduly burdensome and serves as a vehicle for even more onerous restrictions; and

    It says repeal the current registration system, do you think this new bill is going to allow for a registry(presumably a less abusive and cumbersome one than the current one)? I’m hoping it bars registration, but I’d think the NRA would note a barring of a registry.

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