National Rifle Association

It has been awhile since we have updated with new NRA news.

From the NRA’s legislative committee…

Support Effort To Restore Second Amendment Rights Of D.C. Residents

Friday, August 15, 2008

On July 31, House Democrats and Republicans joined in a bi-partisan effort to introduce legislation that would overturn Washington, D.C.’s newly enacted emergency gun control laws. These laws continue to defy the recent Supreme Court ruling by continuing to restrict District of Columbia residents’ right to self-defense.

In a strong bipartisan effort, Congressmen Travis Childers (D-Miss.), John Dingell (D-Mich.), John Tanner (D-Tenn.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), and Mark Souder (R-Ind.), along with 52 of their colleagues, introduced the “Second Amendment Enforcement Act” (H.R. 6691). This critical NRA-backed legislation 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 firearm, are the most popular firearm 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;

* Reform 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.

Read the rest of the article here.

On Friday July, 11th the NRA sent out a legislative action e-mail to its members.  It is bringing attention to congressional issues on the Washington DC government ban on Gun.  In previous e-mails the National Rifle Association brought attention to DC’s new gun restriction laws following the supreme court decision in favor of Heller; allowing Washington DC Residents posses firearms for self-defense.  The Washington DC government has moved and made action on the case and still further to infringe upon Washingtonians right to bear arms even further.

The following is the text of the NRA e-mail.

Post-Heller Congressional Action On “Second Amendment Enforcement Act”

Friday, July 11, 2008

As mentioned in last week’s edition of our Grassroots Alert, following the Supreme Court’s favorable Heller decision, city officials in Washington, D.C. have been planning to obstruct D.C. citizens from exercising their right to keep and bear arms, despite the Supreme Court’s clear statements. And some in Congress are planning to do something about it.

On Thursday, Representative Mark Souder (R-Ind.) introduced H. Res. 1331, a rule to govern House consideration of a modified version of H.R. 1399–the “District of Columbia Personal Protection Act.”

H.R. 1399 was introduced in March of 2007 and has 247 cosponsors. (For more information on H.R. 1399 and on its Senate companion bill, S. 1001 by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas), please go to www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?id=72&issue=020) This rule (H. Res. 1331) would force House consideration of H.R. 1399 if activated by a discharge petition, which will require 218 congressional signatures. It would provide for speedy consideration of legislation to enforce the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller by repealing the provisions of the D.C. Code that were at issue in that case, and by preventing the District from enacting new and burdensome restrictions on its residents’ Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Among other things, H. Res. 1331 includes provisions that would repeal D.C.’s ban on many semi-automatic firearms, and repeal the District’s firearm registration system, as in H.R. 1399.It would also reduce the District’s burdensome restrictions on ammunition, and repeal the District’s unique law that allows manufacturers of certain types of guns to “be held strictly liable in tort, without regard to fault or proof of defect,” for injuries caused with those guns. D.C. has used this law to bring suits against the firearms industry, but those suits have now been blocked by the “Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.”

NRA-ILA is fully committed to restoring the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding residents of Washington, D.C., and will fight this critically important battle until victory is in hand.

We will be sure to keep you informed of new developments as we move forward.In the meantime, please be sure to contact your U.S. Representative at (202) 225-3121, and urge him or her to press Congressional leadership to bring H.R. 1399 to the House floor.

What all this political mombo jumbo means is that the fight is still on and there is a petition of sort floating around congress to stop Washington’s Mayor Adrian Fenty from tightning the restrictve gun laws even more.  Sending a message at the same time.  DC residents have the same rights as others to bear arms.