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As we discussed yesterday, bills have been introduced this week, in both houses of Congress, that would significantly lighten the onerous burden of draconian gun laws in Washington D.C. What's more, they would do so without the unconstitutional baggage of granting the District a voting seat in Congress.
As we also discussed yesterday, there is much anguished wringing of hands over this new development--with D.C.'s Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton breathlessly warning that the proposed legislation "ensur[es] the proliferation of guns on the streets."
Today, though, we'll look at what the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) has to say about the Second Amendment Enforcement Act.
Yesterday, U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced a bill that would repeal public safety laws enacted by the District of Columbia in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in the 2008 case of D.C. v. Heller
The CSGV claims that Senators McCain and Tester--and the NRA--are using several "misrepresentations" to justify the need for this bill. One of these "misrepresentations" is the NRA's claim that the bill is needed in order to "restore the right of self-defense in the home." That's wrong, according to the CSGV, because:
Regarding D.C’s firearm laws pertaining to self-defense in the home, these laws were also revised following the Heller decision. The “Inoperable Pistol Emergency Amendment Act of 2008” (also signed into law by Mayor Fenty on January 6, 2009) allows District residents discretion in how to legally store firearms in the home without requiring that guns be kept unloaded, trigger locked or disassembled. The only restrictions pertain to those with minors in the home.
In other words, you don't have to render your lifesaving firepower useless for immediate use (and when you need to use a firearm, you generally need it immediately)--as long as you're childless Well, actually, that wouldn't be good enough, either, because if a visiting minor can get access to the gun, you're still in trouble.
In still other words, the only people imposed upon by such restrictions on effective defense are the very ones with the most to defend (because what can be more worth defending than one's children?).
On top of that, what about kids themselves defending themselves and their families--kids like this one, and this one (for just a couple examples)? Apparently, Delegate Norton, D.C. Mayor Fenty, the D.C. City Council, and the CSGV would prefer this outcome.
That puts them squarely on the wrong side.
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Comments
Why do the anti-gun idiots hate children so much?
LOL, like anyone would let some stupid law prevent themselves from protecting themselves. Better tried by nine than carried by six.
Lou
www.anon-vpn.se.tc
When your child blows his face off with your gun, you'll regret not trigger locking it. When I was a child I always tried to find my dad's 38 special to play with it. When I found it, it was locked. Thank god for his sanity.
Hate to break it to you Alex, but your dad was an idiot for not teaching you to NOT play with his gun.
Personal responsibility- let the people have some.
I disagree with this article's position. Anyone who has ever owned a gun knows that it takes a maximum of 30 seconds to unlock, load, and cock a gun for defense, which is VERY quick. Newer electronic gun locks can decrease this time even further by automatically disengaging when they detect an RFID chip on your keychain (as long as it's within a couple inches).
Not only that, but the average homeowner can EASILY defend their home with a completely legal solution: a sword. I know it sounds ridiculous, but no robber or murderer is going to expect a sword to come swinging through the hallway at them, and most will run away. Those that won't run away from a sword are probably capable of such good self control they wouldn't be fazed by a gun either.
And honestly, who the hell is going to check people's homes to make sure their guns are locked? This is unenforceable, so calm down and stop being so republican.
I think baby need also a mini gun, so they can fight back in case another baby want to steal their candy. Even if there is some risk, as baby like to put everything they find in their mouth.
Tristan, I've owned guns for many years, and yes, I know how quick it can be to get an unloaded gun ready, when you are calm and collected and not under duress. When the front door gets kicked in a 2:30AM, you are not going to be calm and collected--you're going to have enough adrenaline coursing through you to kill a horse, and your hands are going to be shaking.
30 seconds is a very long time, considering that a healthy young man can get from your threshold to your bedroom in less than 5 seconds.
"Newer RFID locks" such as you describe do not yet exist on the market and, furthermore, what do you do when it DOESN'T work (e.g., when the battery dies)? Do you now just have an expensive rock to throw at your attacker?
You introduce a lot of conjecture into your arguments. In the real world, attackers ARE fazed by guns, and most flee the premises without a shot being fired.
Eleanor Holmes is, of course an idiot. The stuff she fears doesn't happen in nearby Alexandria.
>Carl - because small children have such a well developed sense of right and wrong. You can tell a child until you are blue in the face not to do something and in a moment of anger or fear they can do exactly the opposite.
"Anyone who has ever owned a gun knows that it takes a maximum of 30 seconds to unlock, load, and cock a gun for defense, which is VERY quick."
30 seconds? Fiddling with my firearm is exactly what I'd like to be doing for 30 seconds while some bad guys comes after me in my own home.
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