[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1414 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1414

    To restore second amendment rights in the District of Columbia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 15, 2003

  Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Miller, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Craig, Mr. 
   Cornyn, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Burns, Mr. 
 Sununu, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Allen, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Campbell, 
Mr. Grassley, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Graham of South Carolina, and Mr. Crapo) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                   Committee on Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To restore second amendment rights in the District of Columbia.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``District of Columbia Personal 
Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution 
        provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms 
        shall not be infringed.
            (2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution 
        protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not 
        members of a militia or engaged in military service or 
        training, to keep and bear arms.
            (3) The law-abiding citizens of the District of Columbia 
        are deprived by local laws of handguns, rifles, and shotguns 
        that are commonly kept by law-abiding persons throughout the 
        rest of the United States for sporting use and for lawful 
        defense of persons, homes, and families.
            (4) The District of Columbia has the highest per capita 
        murder rate in the Nation, which may be attributed in part to 
        local laws prohibiting possession of firearms by law-abiding 
        persons who would otherwise be able to defend themselves and 
        their loved ones in their own homes and businesses.
            (5) The Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended by the 
        Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986, and the Brady Handgun 
        Violence Prevention Act of 1993, provide comprehensive Federal 
        regulations applicable in the District of Columbia as 
        elsewhere. In addition, existing District of Columbia criminal 
        laws punish possession and illegal use of firearms by violent 
        criminals and felons. Consequently, there is no need for local 
        laws which only disarm law-abiding citizens.
            (6) Legislation is required to correct the District of 
        Columbia's law in order to restore the rights of its citizens 
        under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution 
        and thereby enhance public safety.

SEC. 3. REFORM D.C. COUNCIL'S AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT FIREARMS.

    Section 303.43 of title 1, District of Columbia Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following: ``This section shall not be construed 
to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory 
authority of the District of Columbia to prohibit, constructively 
prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted 
to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in 
their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or 
other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law 
nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. The District of Columbia 
shall not have authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage 
or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms.''.

SEC. 4. REPEAL D.C. SEMIAUTOMATIC BAN.

    Section 2501.01(10) of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
            ``(10) Machine gun means any firearm which shoots, is 
        designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to 
        shoot automatically, more than 1 shot by a single function of 
        the trigger.''.

SEC. 5. REPEAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.

    Section 2502.01 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``, and no person or organization 
                in the District shall possess or control any firearm, 
                unless the person or organization holds a valid 
                registration certificate for the firearm''; and
                    (B) by striking beginning with ``A registration'' 
                through paragraph (3); and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking 
                ``firearm or'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the semicolon at 
                the end and inserting a period; and
                    (C) by striking paragraph (3).

SEC. 6. REPEAL D.C. HANDGUN BAN.

    Section 2502.02 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or'' after the 
                semicolon;
                    (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; or'' and 
                inserting a period;
                    (C) by striking paragraph (4); and
                    (D) by striking ``(a)''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (b).

SEC. 7. REPEAL HANDGUN AMMUNITION BAN.

    Section 2506.01 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is repealed.

SEC. 8. RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE IN THE HOME.

    Section 2507.02 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is repealed.

SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL REPEALS.

    Sections 2502.03, 2502.04, 2502.05, 2502.06, 2502.07, 2502.08, 
2502.09, 2502.10, and 2502.11 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, 
are repealed.

SEC. 10. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION OF UNREGISTERED 
              FIREARMS.

    Section 2507.06 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``that:'' through ``(1) A'' and inserting 
        ``that a''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (2).

SEC. 11. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CARRYING A PISTOL IN ONE'S 
              DWELLING OR OTHER PREMISES.

    Section 4504(a) of title 22, District of Columbia Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by inserting ``, 
        except in his dwelling house or place of business or on other 
        land possessed by that person, whether loaded or unloaded,'' 
        before ``a pistol''; and
            (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a pistol, without a 
        license pursuant to District of Columbia law, or''.
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