Senator Inhofe Urged Senator Reid To Bring DC Gun Bill To Senate Floor

Taken From Senator Inhofe's Website
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September 22, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) has joined a bipartisan group of Senators to ensure that the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the DC gun ban is upheld and that DC gun owners' rights are fully restored, through the Senate passage of the National Capital Security and Safety Act.

"In June, by overturning the DC gun ban law, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming the Second Amendment right to bear arms as an individual and constitutionally protected right." Senator Inhofe said. "To ensure that D.C. residents' gun ownership rights are fully restored and law enforcement has full authority to protect our Nation's capital, the Senate needs to join the House and pass the National Capital Security and Safety Act."

A letter signed by Senator Inhofe and 46 other Senators was sent to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Friday, September 19, calling on Sen. Reid to allow full consideration of the National Capital Security and Safety Act prior to the conclusion of the 110th Congress. The National Capital Security and Safety Act requires the District of Columbia to revise its firearms laws and regulations as necessary to comply with the requirements of the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The bill, H.R. 6842, passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday, September 17, with an overwhelming majority vote of 266-152.

Full Text of the Letter:

"On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming the Second Amendment right to bear arms as an individual and constitutionally protected right. In DC v. Heller, the court affirmed that the District of Columbia's ban on ownership of handguns was an unconstitutional restriction on that right. The majority held "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."

For more than thirty years, the District of Columbia has subjected residents to the most prohibitive gun control laws of any city in the nation, requiring rifles and shotguns to be registered, stored unloaded, and either locked or disassembled. Despite the Court's ruling in June, the District of Columbia city council has continued to exact onerous and unconstitutional firearm regulations on law-abiding residents.

This week the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6842, the National Capital Security and Safety Act. This bipartisan bill was overwhelmingly approved with a vote of 266-152. We ask you to ensure that D.C. residents do not have to wait any longer to realize their constitutional rights by allowing the full Senate to consider H.R. 6842 before the 110th Congress concludes."