The Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary of the District of Columbia Council will hold a public hearing on Bill 17-843, the “Firearms Control Amendment Act of 2008″ today, Thursday, September 18, 2008, at 11:00 a.m. in the 5th Floor Chamber of the John A. Wilson Building. The purpose of the public hearing is to receive testimony from the public on Bill 17-843 and related issues regarding the 1975 Act.
Bill 17-843 would amend the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 to repeal the prohibition on the registration of pistols, require a ballistics record for each registered pistol, require a waiting period when registering a firearm, and establish a self-defense exception to the requirement for safe storage of firearms in the home.
On July 15th, the Council passed Bill 17-886, the “Firearms Control Emergency Amendment Act of 2008.” This bill amended, on an emergency basis, the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975, provided for a registration process for pistols for use in self-defense within the home, authorized the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department to require a ballistics identification procedure for registered pistols, set a one pistol registration per person policy for a period of 90 days, clarifed the firearm storage requirements, and included an exemption from those requirements for the use of a firearm for self-defense in the registered owner’s home, and provided that a registered pistol owner shall not be required to obtain a license to carry the pistol within the registered pistol owner’s home.
Registration for testimony closed Tuesday. Witnesses will be limited to four minutes; if there are many witnesses, testimony lengths will be shortened. Address questions to Mr. Victor Bonett, Legislative Analyst, at (202) 724-4865 or via e-mail at vbonett@dccouncil.us
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The Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia will host a panel debate, Criminal Justice and Self Protection, on Tuesday, September 23 at 6:45 p.m., at the Charles Sumner School (1201 Seventeenth Street, NW, at 17th and M Streets). Topics will include District emergency handgun legislation (see above), the June 2008 Supreme Court ruling ending the city’s handgun ban, and the Congressional attempt to allow purchase of semiautomatic firearms.
Participants:
Dick A. Heller, plaintiff in District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court case that overturned DC’s 32-year-old handgun law
Attorney George Lyon, attorney, of CapitalGunOwners.org
Kristopher Baumann, Chairman, Fraternal Order of Police, Metropolitan Police Department
Mary Cheh, Ward 3 DC Councilmember, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School
Phil Mendelson, DC Councilmember, Chairman of the Committee on Public Safety and the Judiciary
Moderator: George R. Clark, President, Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia
The Federation of Citizens Associations of the District of Columbia (founded 1910; incorporated 1940) is a liaison between fifty member neighborhood organizations and the city government on important issues affecting District residents. For more information, contact Federation President George Clark (202-331-3200) or 1st Vice President Anne Renshaw (202-363-6880 or milrddc@aol.com ).
September 18, 2008 at 12:08 pm
You Going?
September 18, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Nope. I’ll see if the Committee hearings produce any changes to the draft, and email my councilmembers if I think it needs tweaks.
I don’t need to go to the debate, although I would love to hear Mr. Heller explain why his attorneys are trying to bill for $1000 an hour when pro bono Cato lawyers did the heavy legal lifting. The House bill should be DOA in the Senate.