Norton Says Rubio Must Withdraw D.C. Gun Bill Allowing Sale of High-Capacity Magazines After He Expresses Willingness to Reconsider Position on Prohibiting Magazines
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today again called on Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to withdraw his bill that would wipe out most of the District of Columbia's local gun safety laws in light of his willingness after the Parkland shooting to reconsider his opposition to a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Rubio's pending D.C. gun bill would repeal the city's bans on high-capacity magazines (those that can hold more than 10 bullets) and assault weapons, as well as its registration requirements, age requirements and most other D.C. gun safety laws that are stricter than federal law. At last week's CNN town hall on the Parkland shooting, Rubio said: "I have traditionally not supported looking at magazine clip size and after this and some of the details I have learned about it, I am reconsidering that position…."
"Senator Rubio's D.C. gun bill would allow a person the same age (19) as the Parkland shooter to buy assault rifles, such as an AR-15, and high-capacity magazines in the nation's capital," Norton said. "Compounding the danger to District residents and visitors, Senator Rubio's bill would eliminate D.C.'s total ban on guns in school. The Parkland shooting tragically shows the dangers these weapons of war pose to our children. It is long past time that he withdraw his dangerous, anti-home-rule bill."
A version of the Rubio bill, which is sponsored in the House by Representative Tom Garrett (R-VA), has been introduced for more than a decade, but Norton has kept it from being enacted. Rubio first introduced the bill in 2015, just before announcing his candidacy for president, and, upon filing his bill, the NRA upgraded Rubio's rating from a B-plus to an A.
Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) has introduced a bill that would require D.C. to recognize out-of-state concealed carry permits, regardless of the state's carry requirements. Norton has defeated similar bills for several years.