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Hall Supports DC Gun Rights in Case Before Supreme Court

Press Release

Date: Jan. 17, 2008
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Guns


HALL SUPPORTS DC GUN RIGHTS IN CASE BEFORE SUPREME COURT

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX/4) added his name to a growing list of lawmakers, led by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), who are submitting an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in support of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals' ruling that gun control laws in DC violate individuals' Second Amendment rights.

"I am pleased to join Senator Hutchison and others in support of overturning DC's prohibitive gun control laws that prevent homeowners from owning handguns within their home for self-defense," Hall said. "The Second Amendment is a fundamental right of all Americans - and should not be denied for those living in our Nation's Capital."

Washington, DC, has enforced the most prohibitive gun control laws of any city in the nation since 1976, when the City Council banned handguns and required rifles and shotguns to be registered, stored unloaded and either locked or disassembled. In the case before the Supreme Court, Parker v. District of Columbia, six DC residents sued the city over its firearms prohibition and the constitutional right to protect themselves. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled last March in favor of the residents.

Hall is a longtime supporter of Second Amendment rights. Congress passed, and Hall supported, the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005, which included congressional findings that the Second Amendment shall not be infringed and that guarantees the right of individuals, including those who are not engaged in military service or training, to keep and bear arms. Congress also passed, and Hall supported, language in the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006 reaffirming individuals' Second Amendment rights. Hall also has opposed the DC gun ban in a number of votes in the House.

"This case will be historic, and a favorable ruling could restore the lawful rights of DC residents provided under the Second Amendment," Hall said.


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