DC still in defiance of SCOTUS Heller ruling, GOA alert

[Shawn.L]

Washington, D.C. City Council Ignoring Supreme Court Ruling
-- Discharge petition filed on gun ban repeal
Gun Owners of America
E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place,
Suite 102,
Springfield, VA 22151

Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408http://www.gunowners.org

Monday, July 28, 2008

In open defiance of the Supreme Court's decision striking down the Washington D.C. gun control law, the City Council passed an"emergency" law that keeps in place almost all of the law that was ruled unconstitutional. For example, though the Court ruled specifically that the city's ban on handguns violated the Second Amendment, most handguns still cannot be registered because D.C. bureaucrats classify semi-automatic pistols as "machine guns."
Even Dick Heller, who brought the case against Washington's gun ban, was rejected when he tried to register his handgun because any"bottom loading" firearm is a "machine gun" according to the D.C.police.
Similarly, while the Court found that "the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a "trigger lock" is unconstitutional, the city kept in place the "lock up your safety" law unless the resident is in immediate danger.
The D.C. Council is thus rendering the Supreme Court victory for gunrights meaningless, while leaving residents defenseless.
Congress needs to repeal the District's gun control law to ensure that theSupreme Court decision is not a hollow victory. According to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, Congress has the authority and responsibility to govern the District. It can simply repeal the District's onerous gun law.
Not surprisingly, however, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has no intention of allowing the D.C. gun ban repeal legislation to come to the floor, even though it is cosponsored by more than half of the members of Congress. To free the bill from the Speaker's death grip, Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) has filed a discharge petition to bring the bill directly tothe floor. Rep. Souder needs 218 cosigners for the petition to be successful. There are currently 109 signers. There are not many days left in this legislative session, so it is vital that the discharge petition moves quickly.

Please contact your representative and urge him or her to support the repeal of the D.C. gun ban and to sign the Souder discharge petition.

You can visit the Gun OwnersLegislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your Reps. the pre-written e-mail message below.
----- Pre-written letter -----
Dear Representative,
The Washington, D.C. city council is making a mockery of the recent Supreme Court decision supporting the individual right to keep andbear arms. Though the Court ruled the city's handgun ban unconstitutional, DC isstill making it illegal to own most handguns. The Court also ruled thatthe District's gun lock and gun storage law violates the Constitution, but under the city's new "emergency" gun law, firearms must be kept inoperable unless there is an immediate danger to residents. Representative Mark Souder has filed a discharge petition to bring a billto repeal the District's gun laws to the floor for a vote. Please stand up for the Second Amendment and sign the Souderdischarge petition. Sincerely,

[Shawn.L]

as a side note, the activism link below is ultra cool and useful for writing letters and such to all levels of gov. And if you are not sure about your state reps or reps to the house or whatever you just put in your zip and it looks them up.

http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm

[bigbear]

I, for one, am not suprised by this. But a semi-automatic handgun is a machine gun? Who rights this crap?

[pex]

Originally Posted by bigbear

I, for one, am not suprised by this. But a semi-automatic handgun is a machine gun? Who rights this crap?

God/nature/government rights us both, shall not to be infringed or questioned.

[LittleRedToyota]

personally, i don't want this to be resolved via legislation.

i want it to go back to the courts, and i want them to rule on whether or not semi-auto handguns can be banned...and whether or not laws can be passed requiring guns to be unloaded or locked until someone is actually attacking you.

let's find out just how hollow the heller decision was or was not.

[Mtbkski]

Murtha has a link just for a letter concerning this set up on his e-mail. That was cool.