[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 104 (Tuesday, July 15, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9425-S9426]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By 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):

  S. 1414. A bill to restore second amendment rights in the District of 

Columbia; to the Committee on Governmental Affairs.

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the District of 

Columbia Personal Protection Act. This is an extremely important piece 

of legislation. Most importantly, this bill goes a long way toward 

restoring the constitutionally guaranteed right of Americans who reside 

in the District of Columbia to possess firearms.

  It is no secret that the District of Columbia, our great Nation's 

Capital, suffers from the most startling violent crime rates in the 

country. It has the highest, the absolute highest, murder rate per 

capita in the country. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 

and despite the most stringent gun control laws in the country, in 8 

out of the 9 years between 1994 and 2002, Washington DC had the highest 

murder rate in the country. In fact, the results are in for 2002, and 

unfortunately they continue to paint a grim picture. The District of 

Columbia has again reclaimed its rather unenviable title as the 

``Murder Capital of the United States''.

  It is time, to restore the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect 

themselves and to defend their families against murderous predators. 

All to often, we read in the paper about yet another vicious murder 

carried out against an innocent District of Columbia resident. Try to 

imagine the horror that the victim felt when he faced a gun-toting 

criminal and could not legally reach for a firearm to protect himself. 

We must act now to stop the carnage and put law-abiding citizens in a 

position to exercise their right to self defense. It is time to tell 

the citizens of the District of Columbia that the Second Amendment of 

the Constitution applies to them, and not only to their fellow 

Americans in the rest of the country. The District of Columbia Personal 

Protection Act would do exactly that.

  Let me take a moment to highlight what this legislation would do. 

This bill would: 1. permit law-abiding citizens to possess handguns and 

rifles in their homes and businesses; 2. repeal the registration 

requirements for firearms and ammunition; 3. eliminate criminal 

penalties for possession and carrying of firearms in their homes and 

businesses; and 4. correct an erroneous provision which wrongly treats 

some firearms as if they were machineguns.

  Over the years, I have heard over and over again from some of my 

friends on the other side of the aisle that the way you reduce violent, 

gun-related crime is by prohibiting the possession of firearms. Even if 

law-abiding citizens are prohibited from possessing firearms, my 

liberal friends argue, it is a small price to pay for safety and 

security.

  Well, I want to take this opportunity to dispel these unfounded 

myths. These myths, I might add, are exposed as such by situations like 

we have today in the District of Columbia. I have said it before, but I 

will say it again, excessive regulation and the systematic erosion of 

the rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment do not deter violent, 

gun-toting criminals. Enacting and vigorously enforcing stiff penalties 

for those that commit crimes with guns deters violent crime. Not only 

is this the proven and effective approach to reducing gun violence, it 

also preserves the constitutionally guaranteed rights of law-abiding 

men and women to own and possess firearms.

  In fact, I recently held a hearing that examined the Administration's 

gun crime reduction initiative, Project Safe Neighborhoods. This 

initiative has been incredibly successful. It takes the precise 

approach that I have advocated--strict and vigorous enforcement of 

crimes committed with guns. It says to criminals, ``If you use a gun 

during the commission of a crime, you will do very serious and very 

hard time.'' And it does so, without trampling on the





[[Page S9426]]



rights of law-abiding American men and women.

  Today, unfortunately but not surprisingly, the state of affairs in 

the District of Columbia has highlighted exactly what those of us who 

care deeply about the Second Amendment of the Constitution have always 

feared: murderous criminals possess firearms and are free to prey upon 

law-abiding citizens; and law-abiding citizens--precisely because they 

are law-abiding citizens--may not possess a firearm in their homes to 

protect themselves and their families.

  The prohibition of firearms in the District of Columbia is as 

ineffective and deplorable as it is unconstitutional; it is high-time 

we rectify this wrong. I urge my colleagues to support this measure.

  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 

Record.

  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 

Record, as follows:



                                S. 1414



       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 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''.

                                 ______