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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

DC Gun Laws and Proposed Amendments


Vivian S. Chu
Legislative Attorney

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, which declared three firearms provisions of the DC Code unconstitutional, a flurry of legislation was introduced both in Congress and in the District of Columbia Council.

In the 110
th Congress, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6842, the Second Amendment Enforcement Act. In the 111th Congress, similar provisions were incorporated as an amendment to the District of Columbia Voting Rights Act of 2009 (S. 160), which was passed by the Senate. Later, separate measures, which also would have overturned or loosened many of the District’s gun provisions, were introduced in both the House of Representatives (H.R. 5162) and the Senate (S. 3265). Meanwhile, the District Council passed its own legislation that made permanent amendments to DC’s firearms control regulations. The two bills from the District are the Firearms Control Amendment Act of 2008 and the Inoperable Pistol Amendment Act of 2008, which amended the DC Code in an effort to comply with the ruling in Heller as well as provide a different range of restrictions on firearm possession.

In the 112
th Congress, Representative Mike Ross introduced H.R. 645, “To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia.” This measure is identical to H.R. 5162 from the previous Congress. This report provides an analysis of the District’s firearms laws and congressional proposals.


Date of Report: April 26, 2011
Number of Pages: 20
Order Number: R40474
Price: $29.95

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