Norton, Victims' Families to Meet with Majority Leader on Gun Bill and Hold Press Conference
Norton and Families of Victims of D.C.’s Mass Shooting to Meet with Majority Leader Hoyer on Gun Bill and Hold Press Conference
WASHINGTON, DC - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) has arranged for the immediate families of the victims of the District’s recent mass shooting to meet with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) on Friday, June 18, 2010, regarding the pending D.C. gun bill that has caused a delay in the congressional consideration of the D.C. House Voting Rights Act (DCVRA). Norton has met with the families of the victims of the March drive-by shooting and attended the funerals of the children killed.
Following the meeting with Majority Leader Hoyer, who has been a strong supporter of D.C. home rule and the DCVRA, Norton and the family members will hold a press conference in Room HC-6 of the U.S. Capitol at 3:00 p.m., to discuss the outcome of the meeting.The Second Amendment Enforcement Act was introduced by Representative Travis Childress (D-MS) and Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and John McCain (R-AZ) as a stand-alone bill when Norton withdrew the DCVRA the National Rifle Association (NRA) had planned to attach its anti-home rule gun bill to it. The new attachment, however, considerably raised the stakes with far more dangerous provisions than the earlier gun attachment. The new NRA bill would:- permit D.C. to regulate, but not prohibit, the carrying of guns in public, openly or concealed;
- bar D.C. from prohibiting guns in District-owned and -controlled buildings and structures that do not have certain security measures in place, among them elementary schools and recreation centers; and
- prohibit residential and commercial property owners, as well as the District government, from banning guns on their property belonging to tenants.
In addition, the NRA bill would:
- prevent D.C. from making changes to its gun laws in the future;
- repeal D.C.’s ban on assault weapons, including .50 caliber rifles;
- create the only exception to federal law by permitting D.C. residents to make handgun purchases in person outside their home jurisdiction, in this case in Maryland and Virginia;
- repeal D.C.’s gun registration requirements;
- repeal D.C.’s limitation on the number of handguns that can be purchased per month;
- reduce penalties if a child is injured by a negligently stored gun and repeals other safety features for guns and ammunition enacted by the city council when it revised D.C.’s gun laws;
- repeal D.C.’s 10-day waiting period to buy handguns and rifles. There would only be a 48-hour waiting period for handguns;
- repeal D.C.’s gun training requirements;
- repeal D.C.’s categories of prohibited possessors, including a person who was involuntarily committed to a mental institution; and
- repealing D.C.’s ban on large capacity ammunition feeding devices.
Norton has met with and written to House and Senate leaders regarding strategies for defeating the gun bill in the House and Senate.
“Whatever our disagreements on guns, there is no justification for Members trying to force their will on the local laws of a jurisdiction where they have not been elected and are not accountable to the voters,” said Norton.WHO: The Office of U.S. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and victims’ families
WHAT: Press Conference on Gun Bill WHERE: Room HC-6 in the U.S. Capitol WHEN: Friday, June 18, 2010 at 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.