[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 16]
[Senate]
[Pages 21694-21695]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              DC GUN LAWS

  Mrs. FEINSTEN. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in strong 
opposition to H.R. 6842, which would repeal the commonsense gun laws of 
the District of Columbia.
  I believe this bill is reckless and irresponsible, and will lead to 
more weapons and violence on the streets of our Nation's Capital. It 
will endanger the citizens of the District of Columbia, the government 
employees who work there, our elected officials, and anyone who visits 
Washington, DC.
  The House bill repeals laws promoting public safety, including DC 
laws that the U.S. Supreme Court indicated were permissible under the 
2nd amendment in the Heller decision.
  I strongly disagree with the Supreme Court's decision in Heller that 
the 2nd amendment gives individuals a right to possess guns for private 
purposes not related to state militias, and that the Constitution does 
not permit a general ban on handguns in the home.
  However, it is important to note that Heller also stands for the 
proposition that reasonable, commonsense gun regulations are entirely 
permissible.
  Justice Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion in Heller, noted that 
a wide variety of gun laws are ``presumptively lawful,'' including laws 
``forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places'' and 
regulations governing the ``conditions and qualifications on the 
commercial sale of arms.'' Even bans on ``dangerous and unusual 
weapons'' are completely appropriate under the Heller decision.
  The House bill completely ignores this language and takes the 
approach that all guns, for all people, at all times is the only way to 
go after Heller.
  It is worth noting just how far the House bill goes in repealing DC 
law and just how unsafe it will make the streets of DC.
  The bill would do the following: It would repeal DC's ban on semi-
automatic weapons, including assault weapons.
  If this bill becomes law, military-style assault weapons with high 
capacity ammunition magazines will be allowed to be stockpiled in homes 
and businesses in the District, even near Federal buildings like the 
White House.
  Even the .50 caliber sniper rifle, with a range of over 1 mile, will 
be allowed in DC under the House bill. This is a weapon capable of 
firing rounds that can penetrate concrete and armor plating. And at 
least one model of the .50 caliber sniper rifle is easily concealed and 
transported. One gun manufacturer describes it as a ``lightweight and 
tactical'' and capable of being collapsed and carried in ``a very small 
inconspicuous package.''
  There is simply no good reason why anyone needs semi-automatic 
assault weapons in an urban city. It is unfathomable to me that the 
same high-powered sniper-rifle used by our Armed Forces in Iraq and 
Afghanistan will be permitted in our Nation's Capital. Yet this is 
exactly what the House bill would allow if passed by the Senate.
  The House bill would repeal existing Federal anti-gun trafficking 
laws. For years, Federal law has banned gun dealers from selling 
handguns directly to out-of-State buyers who are not licensed firearm 
dealers. This has greatly helped in the fight against illegal 
interstate gun trafficking, and has prevented criminals from traveling 
to other States to buy guns.
  The House bill repeals this longstanding Federal law and allows DC 
residents to cross State lines to buy handguns in neighboring States. 
Illegal gun traffickers will be able to easily obtain large quantities 
of firearms outside of DC and then distribute those guns to criminals 
in DC and surrounding States.
  The House bill repeals DC law restricting the ability of dangerous 
and unqualified people to obtain guns.
  The bill also repeals many of the gun regulations that the Supreme 
Court said were completely appropriate after Heller. It repeals the DC 
prohibition on persons under the age of 21 from possessing firearms, 
and it repeals all age limits for the possession of long guns, 
including assault weapons. The House bill even repeals the DC law 
prohibiting gun possession by people who have poor vision. 
Unbelievably, under the House bill, DC would be barred from having any 
vision requirement for gun use, even if someone is blind.
  The House bill repeals all firearm registration requirements in 
Washington, DC. The bill repeals all registration requirements for 
firearms, making it even more difficult for law enforcement to trace 
guns used in crimes and tracing them to their registered owner.
  The House bill repeals all existing safe storage laws and prohibits 
DC from enacting any more safe storage laws. After the Heller decision, 
DC passed emergency legislation allowing guns to be unlocked for self-
defense, but requiring that they otherwise be locked to keep guns from 
children and criminals. The House bill prevents the DC City Council 
from enacting new legislation to replace the emergency law, as well as 
from enacting any laws that ``discourage'' gun ownership or require 
safe storage of firearms.
  Every major gun manufacturer recommends that guns be kept unloaded, 
locked, and kept in a safe place. Under the House bill, DC could not 
enact any legislation requiring that guns be stored in a safe place, 
even in homes with children.
  How can anyone believe that enacting these provisions in the House 
bill and eliminating DC's commonsense gun laws is the right thing to 
do?
  The American people clearly do not agree with the House bill. A 
recent national poll found that 69 percent of Americans oppose Congress 
passing a law to eliminate Washington, DC's, gun laws. Additionally, 60 
percent of Americans believe that Washington, DC, will become less safe 
if Congress takes that step.
  As a former mayor who saw firsthand what happens when guns fall into 
the hands of criminals, juveniles, and the mentally ill, I believe that 
the House bill places the families of the District of Columbia in great 
jeopardy.
  The bill puts innocent lives at stake. It is an affront to the public 
safety of the District of Columbia, as well as the right to home rule 
by its citizens.
  This isn't just a bad law, it is a dangerous one. If this bill comes 
to the floor of the U.S. Senate, I will do everything in my power to 
stop it.
  Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, on June 26, 2008, in the landmark District 
of Columbia v. Heller decision, the United States Supreme Court 
decisively confirmed what Oklahomans have known for a long time: we as 
Americans have an individual right to legally possess and use a 
firearm.
  Prior to the Heller decision, DC, had the most restrictive gun 
control laws in the country. The District effectively banned handguns 
in homes and required all licensed firearms to be unloaded and 
dissembled or bound by a trigger lock or similar device.
  Not only did the Supreme Court deem the DC gun ban unconstitutional, 
it also positively affirmed that ``(t)he Second Amendment protects an 
individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a 
militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as 
self-defense within the home.''
  I was very satisfied with the Supreme Court's decision in District of 
Columbia v. Heller. Before the Supreme Court heard this case, the 
entire Oklahoma delegation signed onto an amicus brief to the Supreme 
Court, urging the Court to affirm that the second amendment protects an 
individual right to possess firearms. With the signatures of Vice 
President Cheney, 55 Senators, and 250 Members of the House of 
Representatives, this amicus brief had the support of more Members of 
Congress than any other amicus brief in known history.
  Unfortunately, it did not come as a great surprise that soon after 
the Supreme Court decided the Heller case, the DC City Council began 
exploring new ways to restrict firearm possession in the District.

[[Page 21695]]

  In response, on September 17, the House of Representatives passed the 
National Capital Security and Safety Act, H.R. 6842, by an overwhelming 
bipartisan vote of 266-152. This bill prohibits the DC government from 
passing any law to restrict firearms in a person's home, business, or 
land. Additionally, the legislation rolls back the restrictions that 
the DC government has implemented that prohibit the registration of 
certain types of firearms. The bill also allows residents of the 
District of Columbia to purchase firearms from licensed dealers in the 
neighboring states of Virginia and Maryland.
  After the House of Representatives passed this important bill, I 
joined 47 of my colleagues in the Senate in sending a letter to 
Majority Leader Reid asking him to bring up H.R. 6842 for consideration 
in the Senate. I sincerely hope that the Senate has the opportunity to 
debate and vote on this bill and send it to President Bush this year.
  I have tenaciously fought to preserve the right of individual 
citizens to keep and bear arms since my first days in Congress. I will 
continue in this next stage of the battle over the interpretation of 
the second amendment.

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