District of Columbia Personal Protection Act - Amends the District of Columbia Code to provide that the D.C. Council's regulatory authority regarding firearms, explosives, and weapons in the District shall not be construed to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory authority of the District to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. Denies the District any authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms.
Repeals the definition of machine gun as any firearm which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to shoot semiautomatically, more than 12 shots without manual reloading. (Thus repeals the ban on semiautomatic weapons.)
Repeals the District's: (1) registration requirement for possession of firearms; (2) prohibition on registration of pistols (handguns); (3) prohibition on possession of handgun ammunition; (4) requirement that, under certain conditions, firearms in the possession of certain individuals must be kept unloaded, disassembled, or with the trigger locked; (5) related firearm registration requirements such as applicant qualifications and filing deadline.
Eliminates criminal penalties for: (1) possessing an unregistered firearm; or (2) carrying a pistol whether loaded or unloaded in one's dwelling house, place of business, or on land possessed by such person.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1414 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1414
To restore second amendment rights in the District of Columbia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 15, 2003
Mr. Hatch (for himself, Mr. Miller, Mrs. Hutchison, Mr. Craig, Mr.
Cornyn, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. Burns, Mr.
Sununu, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Bunning, Mr. Allen, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Campbell,
Mr. Grassley, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Graham of South Carolina, and Mr. Crapo)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To restore second amendment rights in the District of Columbia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``District of Columbia Personal
Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
provides that the right of the people to keep and bear arms
shall not be infringed.
(2) The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
protects the rights of individuals, including those who are not
members of a militia or engaged in military service or
training, to keep and bear arms.
(3) The law-abiding citizens of the District of Columbia
are deprived by local laws of handguns, rifles, and shotguns
that are commonly kept by law-abiding persons throughout the
rest of the United States for sporting use and for lawful
defense of persons, homes, and families.
(4) The District of Columbia has the highest per capita
murder rate in the Nation, which may be attributed in part to
local laws prohibiting possession of firearms by law-abiding
persons who would otherwise be able to defend themselves and
their loved ones in their own homes and businesses.
(5) The Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended by the
Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986, and the Brady Handgun
Violence Prevention Act of 1993, provide comprehensive Federal
regulations applicable in the District of Columbia as
elsewhere. In addition, existing District of Columbia criminal
laws punish possession and illegal use of firearms by violent
criminals and felons. Consequently, there is no need for local
laws which only disarm law-abiding citizens.
(6) Legislation is required to correct the District of
Columbia's law in order to restore the rights of its citizens
under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
and thereby enhance public safety.
SEC. 3. REFORM D.C. COUNCIL'S AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT FIREARMS.
Section 303.43 of title 1, District of Columbia Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following: ``This section shall not be construed
to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental or regulatory
authority of the District of Columbia to prohibit, constructively
prohibit, or unduly burden the ability of persons otherwise permitted
to possess firearms under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in
their homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or
other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal law
nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. The District of Columbia
shall not have authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage
or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms.''.
SEC. 4. REPEAL D.C. SEMIAUTOMATIC BAN.
Section 2501.01(10) of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is
amended to read as follows:
``(10) Machine gun means any firearm which shoots, is
designed to shoot, or can be readily converted or restored to
shoot automatically, more than 1 shot by a single function of
the trigger.''.
SEC. 5. REPEAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.
Section 2502.01 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by striking ``, and no person or organization
in the District shall possess or control any firearm,
unless the person or organization holds a valid
registration certificate for the firearm''; and
(B) by striking beginning with ``A registration''
through paragraph (3); and
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking
``firearm or'';
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking the semicolon at
the end and inserting a period; and
(C) by striking paragraph (3).
SEC. 6. REPEAL D.C. HANDGUN BAN.
Section 2502.02 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or'' after the
semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (3), by striking ``; or'' and
inserting a period;
(C) by striking paragraph (4); and
(D) by striking ``(a)''; and
(2) by striking subsection (b).
SEC. 7. REPEAL HANDGUN AMMUNITION BAN.
Section 2506.01 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is repealed.
SEC. 8. RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE IN THE HOME.
Section 2507.02 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is repealed.
SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL REPEALS.
Sections 2502.03, 2502.04, 2502.05, 2502.06, 2502.07, 2502.08,
2502.09, 2502.10, and 2502.11 of title 7, District of Columbia Code,
are repealed.
SEC. 10. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION OF UNREGISTERED
FIREARMS.
Section 2507.06 of title 7, District of Columbia Code, is amended--
(1) by striking ``that:'' through ``(1) A'' and inserting
``that a''; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
SEC. 11. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CARRYING A PISTOL IN ONE'S
DWELLING OR OTHER PREMISES.
Section 4504(a) of title 22, District of Columbia Code, is
amended--
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by inserting ``,
except in his dwelling house or place of business or on other
land possessed by that person, whether loaded or unloaded,''
before ``a pistol''; and
(2) in paragraph (1), by striking ``a pistol, without a
license pursuant to District of Columbia law, or''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9425-9426)
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Governmental Affairs. (text of measure as introduced: CR S9426)
Committee on Governmental Affairs referred to Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia.
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