Letter to Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader, Re: Speedy Passage of Second Amendment Rights Legislation

Letter

Sen. Hutchison Asks Reid to Bring House-Passed DC Gun Ban Bill for a Vote before End of 110th Congress
Letter has 47 Signatures, Hutchison Led Effort to Submit Amicus Brief Signed by Bipartisan Majority

U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Texas's senior Senator, today sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) asking that he allow a vote before the end of the 110th Congress on legislation that codifies the Supreme Court ruling in DC v. Heller, also known as the D.C. Gun Ban case. The letter was cosigned by 46 Senate colleagues.

"In June the Supreme Court ruled in a landmark decision that the D.C. Gun Ban was unconstitutional," said Sen. Hutchison. "It's time for the will of the bipartisan majority of the Senate to pass legislation affirming the second amendment rights for all D.C. residents."

The letter was signed by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Wayne Allard (R-CO), John Barrasso (R-WY), Max Baucus (D-MT), Kit Bond (R-MO), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Richard Burr (R-NC), Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), Tom Coburn (R-OK), Thad Cochran (R-MS), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Susan Collins (R-ME), Bob Corker (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Larry Craig (R-ID), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Jim DeMint (R-SC), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC), Pete Domenici (R-NM), John Ensign (R-NV), Mike Enzi (R-WY), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), James Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Tim Johnson (D-SD), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Mel Martinez (R-FL), John McCain (R-AZ), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Richard Shelby (R-AL), Gordon Smith (R-OR), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Ted Stevens (R-AK), John Sununu (R-NH), Jon Tester (D-MT), John Thune (R-SD), David Vitter (R-LA), George Voinovich (R-OH), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

On September 17, 2008, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed H.R. 6842, the National Capital Security and Safety Act, which returns second amendment rights to the residents of the District of Columbia.

TEXT OF THE LETTER

September 18, 2008
The Honorable Harry Reid
Senate Majority Leader
United States Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Leader Reid:

On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling affirming the Second Amendment right to bear arms as an individual and constitutionally protected right. In DC v. Heller, the court affirmed that the District of Columbia's ban on ownership of handguns was an unconstitutional restriction on that right. The majority held "that the District's ban on handgun possession in the home violates the Second Amendment, as does its prohibition against rendering any lawful firearm in the home operable for the purpose of immediate self-defense."

For more than thirty years, the District of Columbia has subjected residents to the most prohibitive gun control laws of any city in the nation, requiring rifles and shotguns to be registered, stored unloaded, and either locked or disassembled. Despite the Court's ruling in June, the District of Columbia city council has continued to exact onerous and unconstitutional firearm regulations on law-abiding residents.

Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6842, the National Capital Security and Safety Act. This bipartisan bill was overwhelmingly approved with a vote of 266-152. We ask you to ensure that D.C. residents do not have to wait any longer to realize their constitutional rights by allowing the full Senate to consider H.R. 6842 before the 110th Congress concludes.

Sincerely,