Restoration of Second Amendment Bill

H R 6691

http://www.snowflakesinhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/hr6691.pdf

110TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION H. R. 6691
To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 31, 2008
Mr. CHILDERS (for himself, Mr. ALTMIRE, Mr. CAZAYOUX, Mr. DINGELL, Mr.
ROSS, Mr. TANNER, Mr. STUPAK, Ms. HERSETH SANDLIN, Mr. ELLSWORTH,
Mr. MELANCON, Mr. CHANDLER, Mr. LINCOLN DAVIS of Tennessee,
Mr. BOYD of Florida, Mr. MATHESON, Mr. CARDOZA, Mr. CARNEY,
Mr. KAGEN, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. SHULER, Mr. LAMPSON, Mr. HILL,
Mr. CRAMER, Mr. SPACE, Mr. BARROW, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. BISHOP of
Georgia, Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas, Mr. GORDON of Tennessee, Mr. PETERSON
of Minnesota, Mr. BOREN, Mr. DONNELLY, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota,
Mrs. BOYDA of Kansas, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SOUDER, Mr.
HAYES, Mr. SALI, Mr. WALBERG, Mr. PATRICK J. MURPHY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. COOPER, Mr. BOUCHER, Mr. MURTHA, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr.
BERRY, Mr. DAVIS of Alabama, Mr. KANJORSKI, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr.
MAHONEY of Florida, Mr. MARSHALL, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. HODES, Mr.
SESSIONS, and Ms. SHEA-PORTER) introduced the following bill; which
was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of
Columbia.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Second Amendment
3 Enforcement Act’’.
4 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
5 Congress finds the following:
6 (1) The Second Amendment to the United
7 States Constitution provides that the right of the
8 people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
9 (2) As the Congress and the Supreme Court of
10 the United States have recognized, the Second
11 Amendment to the United States Constitution pro12
tects the rights of individuals, including those who
13 are not members of a militia or engaged in military
14 service or training, to keep and bear arms.
15 (3) The law-abiding citizens of the District of
16 Columbia are deprived by local laws of handguns, ri17
fles, and shotguns that are commonly kept by law18
abiding persons throughout the United States for
19 sporting use and for lawful defense of their persons,
20 homes, businesses, and families.
21 (4) The District of Columbia has the highest
22 per capita murder rate in the Nation, which may be
23 attributed in part to local laws prohibiting posses24
sion of firearms by law-abiding persons who would
25 otherwise be able to defend themselves and their
26 loved ones in their own homes and businesses.
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1 (5) The Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as
2 amended by the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of
3 1986, and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
4 Act of 1993, provide comprehensive Federal regula5
tions applicable in the District of Columbia as else6
where. In addition, existing District of Columbia
7 criminal laws punish possession and illegal use of
8 firearms by violent criminals and felons. Con9
sequently, there is no need for local laws which only
10 affect and disarm law-abiding citizens.
11 (6) Officials of the District of Columbia have
12 indicated their intention to continue to unduly re13
strict lawful firearm possession and use by citizens
14 of the District.
15 (7) Legislation is required to correct the Dis16
trict of Columbia’s law in order to restore the funda17
mental rights of its citizens under the Second
18 Amendment to the United States Constitution and
19 thereby enhance public safety.
20 SEC. 3. REFORM D.C. COUNCIL’S AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT
21 FIREARMS.
22 Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to prohibit the
23 killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of
24 Columbia’’, approved June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 809; sec.
25 1–303.43, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at
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1 the end the following: ‘‘Nothing in this section or any
2 other provision of law shall authorize, or shall be con3
strued to permit, the Council, the Mayor, or any govern4
mental or regulatory authority of the District of Columbia
5 to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the
6 ability of persons not prohibited from possessing firearms
7 under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their
8 homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection
9 or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited
10 by Federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act.
11 The District of Columbia shall not have authority to enact
12 laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the pri13
vate ownership or use of firearms.’’.
14 SEC. 4. REPEAL D.C. SEMIAUTOMATIC BAN.
15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(10) of the Firearms
16 Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2501.01(10),
17 D.C. Official Code) is amended to read as follows:
18 ‘‘(10) ‘Machine gun’ means any firearm which
19 shoots, is designed to shoot, or readily restored to
20 shoot automatically, more than 1 shot without man21
ual reloading by a single function of the trigger, and
22 includes the frame or receiver of any such weapon,
23 any part designed and intended solely and exclu24
sively, or combination of parts designed and in25
tended, for use in converting a weapon into a ma-
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1 chine gun, and any combination of parts from which
2 a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are
3 in the possession or under the control of a person.’’.
4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO PROVISIONS SET5
TING FORTH CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 1(c) of the
6 Act of July 8, 1932 (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22–4501(c), D.C.
7 Official Code) is amended to read as follows:
8 ‘‘(c) ‘Machine gun’, as used in this Act, has the
9 meaning given such term in section 101(10) of the Fire10
arms Control Regulations Act of 1975.’’.
11 SEC. 5. REPEAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.
12 (a) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT.—
13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 201(a) of the Fire14
arms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–
15 2502.01(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended by strik16
ing ‘‘any firearm, unless’’ and all that follows
17 through paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
18 ‘‘any firearm described in subsection (c).’’.
19 (2) DESCRIPTION OF FIREARMS REMAINING IL20
LEGAL.—Section 201 of such Act (sec. 7–2502.01,
21 D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at the end
22 the following new subsection:
23 ‘‘(c) A firearm described in this subsection is any of
24 the following:
25 ‘‘(1) A sawed-off shotgun.
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1 ‘‘(2) A machine gun.
2 ‘‘(3) A short-barreled rifle.’’.
3 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading
4 of section 201 of such Act (sec. 7–2502.01, D.C. Of5
ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘Registration re6
quirements’’ and inserting ‘‘Firearm Possession’’.
7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO FIREARMS CON8
TROL REGULATIONS ACT.—The Firearms Control Regu9
lations Act of 1975 is amended as follows:
10 (1) Sections 202 through 211 (secs. 7–2502.02
11 through 7–2502.11, D.C. Official Code) are re12
pealed.
13 (2) Section 101 (sec. 7–2501.01, D.C. Official
14 Code) is amended by striking paragraph (13).
15 (3) Section 401 (sec. 7–2504.01, D.C. Official
16 Code) is amended—
17 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the Dis18
trict;’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol19
lowing: ‘‘the District, except that a person may
20 engage in hand loading, reloading, or custom
21 loading of ammunition for firearms lawfully
22 possessed under this Act.’’; and
23 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘which
24 are unregisterable under section 202’’ and in-
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1 serting ‘‘which are prohibited under section
2 201’’.
3 (4) Section 402 (sec. 7–2504.02, D.C. Official
4 Code) is amended—
5 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Any
6 person eligible to register a firearm’’ and all
7 that follows through ‘‘such business,’’ and in8
serting the following: ‘‘Any person not other9
wise prohibited from possessing or receiving a
10 firearm under Federal or District law, or from
11 being licensed under section 923 of title 18,
12 United States Code,’’; and
13 (B) in subsection (b), by amending para14
graph (1) to read as follows:
15 ‘‘(1) The applicant’s name;’’.
16 (5) Section 403(b) (sec. 7–2504.03(b), D.C. Of17
ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘registration cer18
tificate’’ and inserting ‘‘dealer’s license’’.
19 (6) Section 404(a)(3) (sec. 7–2504.04(a)(3)),
20 D.C. Official Code) is amended—
21 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking
22 ‘‘registration certificate number (if any) of the
23 firearm,’’;
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1 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by striking
2 ‘‘holding the registration certificate’’ and insert3
ing ‘‘from whom it was received for repair’’;
4 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking
5 ‘‘and registration certificate number (if any) of
6 the firearm’’;
7 (D) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking
8 ‘‘registration certificate number or’’; and
9 (E) by striking subparagraphs (D) and
10 (E).
11 (7) Section 406(c) (sec. 7–2504.06(c), D.C. Of12
ficial Code) is amended to read as follows:
13 ‘‘(c) Within 45 days of a decision becoming effective
14 which is unfavorable to a licensee or to an applicant for
15 a dealer’s license, the licensee or application shall—
16 ‘‘(1) lawfully remove from the District all de17
structive devices in his inventory, or peaceably sur18
render to the Chief all destructive devices in his in19
ventory in the manner provided in section 705; and
20 ‘‘(2) lawfully dispose, to himself or to another,
21 any firearms and ammunition in his inventory.’’.
22 (8) Section 407(b) (sec. 7–2504.07(b), D.C. Of23
ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘would not be el24
igible’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘is prohib-
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1 ited from possessing or receiving a firearm under
2 Federal or District law.’’.
3 (9) Section 502 (sec. 7–2505.02, D.C. Official
4 Code) is amended—
5 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as
6 follows:
7 ‘‘(a) Any person or organization not prohibited from
8 possessing or receiving a firearm under Federal or District
9 law may sell or otherwise transfer ammunition or any fire10
arm, except those which are prohibited under section 201,
11 to a licensed dealer.’’;
12 (B) by amending subsection (c) to read as
13 follows:
14 ‘‘(c) Any licensed dealer may sell or otherwise trans15
fer a firearm to any person or organization not otherwise
16 prohibited from possessing or receiving such firearm under
17 Federal or District law.’’;
18 (C) in subsection (d), by striking para19
graphs (2) and (3); and
20 (D) by striking subsection (e).
21 (10) Section 704 (sec. 7–2507.04, D.C. Official
22 Code) is amended—
23 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘any reg24
istration certificate or’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’; and
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1 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘reg2
istration certificate,’’.
3 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section
4 2(4) of the Illegal Firearm Sale and Distribution Strict
5 Liability Act of 1992 (sec. 7–2531.01(2)(4), D.C. Official
6 Code) is amended—
7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or ignor8
ing proof of the purchaser’s residence in the District
9 of Columbia’’; and
10 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘registra11
tion and’’.
12 SEC. 6. REPEAL HANDGUN AMMUNITION BAN.
13 Section 601(3) of the Firearms Control Regulations
14 Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2506.01(3), D.C. Official Code) is
15 amended by striking ‘‘is the holder of the valid registration
16 certificate for’’ and inserting ‘‘owns’’.
17 SEC. 7. RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE IN THE HOME.
18 Section 702 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act
19 of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.02, D.C. Official Code) is repealed.
20 SEC. 8. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION
21 OF UNREGISTERED FIREARMS.
22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Firearms Con23
trol Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.06, D.C. Offi24
cial Code) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘that:’’ and all that follows
2 through ‘‘(1) A’’ and inserting ‘‘that a’’; and
3 (2) by striking paragraph (2).
4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
5 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to violations occur6
ring after the 60-day period which begins on the date of
7 the enactment of this Act.
8 SEC. 9. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CARRYING A
9 FIREARM IN ONE’S DWELLING OR OTHER
10 PREMISES.
11 Section 4(a) of the Act of July 8, 1932 (47 Stat. 651;
12 sec. 22–4504(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended—
13 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by
14 striking ‘‘a pistol,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘ex15
cept in his dwelling house or place of business or on
16 other land possessed by that person, whether loaded
17 or unloaded, a pistol,’’; and
18 (2) by striking ‘‘except that:’’ and all that fol19
lows through ‘‘(2) If the violation’’ and inserting
20 ‘‘except that if the violation’’.
21 SEC. 10. AUTHORIZING PURCHASES OF FIREARMS BY DIS22
TRICT RESIDENTS.
23 Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, is
24 amended in paragraph (b)(3) by inserting after ‘‘other
25 than a State in which the licensee’s place of business is
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1 located’’ the following: ‘‘, or to the sale or delivery of a
2 handgun to a resident of the District of Columbia by a
3 licensee whose place of business is located in Maryland or
4 Virginia,’’.
Æ
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Looks good to me.


Scott

If you follow the rule of law, any law that doesn't comply with the Constitution is null and void as the Constitution is the ultimate law of the land. Actually needing to have a bill reinstating something that never actually was repealed or lapsed is just a reminder of the serious times we are in.

Ya got that right!! Pardon the pun,it was intended.

OTOH, even though a law is unconstitutional the government will still prosecute you under it until the courts rule in your favor. Plus they can always pass a new law every week with a bit different wording and that one would have to go through the courts as well. "Emergency interim law" sound familiar?

How many months since the SC ruled DC residents had a right to keep handguns in their home, loaded and assembled and ready to fire at a moment's notice? How many people in DC can do that right now with no fear of prosecution? Yes, they would most likely come out of the process innocent, but who wants to take that ride?

This bill is about reigning in the DC city council and removing their ability to harass legal gun owners. It also goes beyond what the SC ruled on and restores the right to keep rifles and shotguns as well, rendering further lawsuits unnecessary and giving DC residents their rights back immediately.

So I'm guessing this has a popsicles' chance in hell of passing into law, amirite?

While it would be a step forward for gun owners, there is so much red tape and paperwork for those in DC it could hardly be construed as a "right". You don't need a permit or a background check to exercise a right, that falls under the "privilege" category. Where the hell does "...shall not be infringed" come into play? It's a sad day when we are grasping at the tiny bits of privilege the Gov't tells us we have, while having the inalienable right endowed to us by our creator the whole time.

What I want to know is what in the heck were they thinking when they put that stuff about a well regulated militia being necessary for the security of a free state in the Second Amendment. Why didn't they just go with a clear simple statement?

Any theories?