Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Countdown?

The Sig-Sauer may come soon:
D.C. Council member Phil Mendelson says he will propose regulations Tuesday that would legalize semi-automatic handguns in the District because the stopgap legislation the council passed in response to a Supreme Court ruling "would not stand up to judicial scrutiny."

"The Supreme Court has spoken, and we have to act accordingly," he said. "We are still going to have a strong gun control law."

Mr. Mendelson, at-large Democrat, said the bill will refine the city's definition of machine guns by using wording from other jurisdictions and the federal assault-weapons ban, which has since expired. The bill also will cap at 10 the number of rounds a semi-automatic gun magazine can hold.

The bill would undercut two federal challenges to the law: a bill in the U.S. House to be considered as early as Tuesday that would relax gun-control regulations in the District, and a lawsuit in U.S. District Court filed by Dick Anthony Heller of the District v. Heller Supreme Court case.
Faster, faster.

8 comments:

bobn said...

Here's hoping!!! If they limit to 10 rounds, I'd go for something in .45ACP.

Geoffrey Britain said...

I'm all for the right to bear arms, including the right to carry concealed arms. However, allowing unrestricted carry in DC, the nation's capitol seems like a nightmare for the secret service and good governance.

Much as some congressmen might deserve it, we can't run a government without basic security.

Setting aside the paranoia about guns how would you keep governmental leaders safe so that they can do their jobs?

bobn said...

GB,

Concealed Carry is not on the table here.

This is just about which guns you can keep and use in your own residence.

MaxedOutMama said...

I know what Carl wants for Christmas.... Ammo makes a great stocking stuffer.

GB -
1) This is not a concealed carry issue, it is about being allowed to keep a handgun in your own home. The plaintiff in the SC case was a police officer who wasn't permitted to have a handgun in his own home. How that enhanced public safety is quite beyond me. The SC did not mandate that gun permits be given to everyone, either, so wife-beaters, felons, the mentally insane and the like will not be lurking, LEGALLY armed, in their living rooms. In DC, felons currently have far too many guns.
2) Even if residents were allowed to have guns in their cars, etc, that doesn't mean that they would be allowed to take them into Congress. Courts commonly don't allow guns to be taken inside,
3) Safety for Congressmen probably is more a matter of maintaining an adequate security staff at the capital and properly screening package. Need I remind you that the Yemeni embassy was just bombed?
4) In the admittedly wildly unlikely event that the DC authorities suddenly got all enthused over gun rights and passed Right to Carry, it is not clear to me that the safety of our esteemed Congress Critters would be much impacted. The recent sniper incident showed that a disarmed population is not necessarily the most secure population. The police and experts consistently ignored correct bystander descriptions of the perps, and the Beltway snipers' eventual apprehension was due more to alert civilians than to police efforts.
5) If we were really concerned about the safety of our CCs, we probably ought to ban cars for DC residents, because if Congress doesn't open up domestic drilling soon, the SUV crowd could become prone to fits of lethal rage.
6) I cannot imagine a circumstance in which having a neighbor like Carl with a handgun in his residence would not add to my security. Indeed, were I to see him one morning leaving for the gun range, armed with a happy smile and pistol case, I would add him to speed dial, because he'd be far more likely to ward off an armed attacker than the police.

@nooil4pacifists said...

Indeed, as a result of the gun ban, I suspect I'm the only one on my street without a pistol.

bobn said...

Thwe best way to keep our Congress Critters safe would be to instill them with the sadly misnamed "common" sense.

OBloodyHell said...

I believe in the right to arm bears.... Then set all of Congress loose in the woods with 'em.


Now that's a right I'd fight for.

The right to bare breasts would also be worth it.

In the mean time, I'll settle for merely bearing arms.

:o9

Anonymous said...

DC definitely needs more guns. I suppose all of you and everyone else will keep your guns unloaded and locked just like the law requires. You'll be needing those guns to shoot deer for food given the way your George Bush REPUBLICAN administration is working to destroy our nation and its economy.