"The only thing that would cause more murder and mayhem in this city is allowing freer access to guns."
- Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC)
For years, the District of Columbia's democratically-enacted, tough gun laws have been under attack by the gun lobby, both in the U.S. Congress and the nation's courts. The Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (Ed Fund) has defended the power of the citizens of the District of Columbia to decide by democratic means whether and how firearms will be regulated in the city where they live. We work to educate Americans across the country about how the denial of representation for District residents in Congress has distorted the debate over D.C.'s gun laws.
On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court declared the District's handgun ban and firearm storage laws unconstitutional in a controversial 5-4 ruling in the case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court simultaneously affirmed that a wide variety of firearm regulations are constitutional and permissible, including licensing and registration.
The District of Columbia quickly revised its gun laws to comply with the Court's ruling while at the same time ensuring the safety of D.C. residents. Unfortunately, the National Rifle Association is now seeking to go beyond the narrow boundaries of the Heller decision and totally repeal the District's new gun laws through the "Second Amendment Enforcement Act."
- Washington Post - Bill Takes New Aim at D.C. Gun Control - April 19, 2010
- DCist - Gun Amendment Divides Voting Rights Mo vement - April 19, 2010
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- Washington Post - Deal on D.C. Vote in House to be Revived on Capitol Hill - April 15, 2010
- Washington Post - Getting a Gun in the District - September 6, 2009
- Roll Call - D.C. Advocates Fear Gun Amendment on Budget - July 7, 2009
- CSGV Memo: Why is the "Second Amendment Enforcement Act" So Dangerous?
- CSGV Memo: D.C.'s New Gun Laws are Constitutional
- CSGV Memo: What Do the District of Columbia's New Gun Laws Do?
- CSGV Memo: Comparison of New D.C. Gun Laws with 50 States
- D.C. Council resolution opposing any NRA gun amendment to the Voting Rights Act
- 2009 crime gun trace data for the District of Columbia
- Testimony by Ed Fund Executive Director Josh Horwitz before D.C Council's Special Committee on Statehood and Self-Determination regarding the Ensign Amendment
- Testimony by Ed Fund Director of Communciations Ladd Everitt before D.C. Ward 4 Commissioners regarding the Heller decision
- September 2008 poll shows that 69% of Americans oppose attempts by Congress to repeal D.C.'s gun laws
- Important Questions for new D.C. gun lobby group, Capital Gun Owners
- Testimony by Ed Fund Executive Director Josh Horwitz before D.C. Council regarding the Heller decision
- View the "2006 Annual Report on Guns in the District of Columbia" published by the MPDC
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| Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced an NRA-drated bill to repeal D.C.'s post-Heller gun laws on April 27, 2010. |
