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Washington Peace Letter
Washington Peace Center The Washington Peace Letter is published monthly for the social justice community of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Its purpose is to support local, national and international struggles against oppression. It seeks to present a radical analysis of current events, covering information not readily available in the corporate media. The Peace Letter welcomes submissions of calendar announcements, articles, letters to the Editor, and artwork from the progressive community. Articles may be from 300-1200 words, but may be edited for space considerations. Preference is given to materials that cover actions or organizing campaigns in the D.C. metropolitan area. We reserve the right to select or reject any submission. Except as noted, Peace Letter items are copyright free and may be reproduced. Please give credit and send us a copy if you do use something. The Washington Peace Letter is a project of the Peace Talks Working Group of the Washington Peace Center. If you are interested in joining us, call!
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Congress Takes Aim At District's Gun Ban
By Roger Newell
January 2005
Volume 41, Number 1 In a direct assault on home rule in the District, the U.S. House of Representatives voted (250-171) to dismantle the city's 28-year old ban on handgun ownership. Despite objections from District residents, elected officials, police officials, and educators, among others, the House passed a measure that invalidates the city's firearm restrictions. Under the measure, gun registration requirements and bans on semi-automatic assault weapons, as well as armor-piercing ammunition, would be illegal. The District's non-voting Delegate to Congress, Eleanor Holmes Norton, pointed out that "Congress…has not known how to give up on guns or to respect the home rule prerogatives of local government." Northern Virginia Congressmember Tom Davis (R-VA), who took issue with the Republican-led effort to strip the city's gun ban, supported Norton's position. "This is clearly a home rule fight," noted Davis, rejecting the argument that the move to dismantle the District's ban was being carried out in defense of the Constitution's Second Amendment right of citizens to bear arms. "Otherwise, why wouldn't Chicago or Evanston [IL] or other cities with handgun bans be included in this bill?" The House's action comes at a time when, despite a declining overall homicide rate, a record number of young people have been killed this year in the District, with most of the deaths due to gunshots. The House passed measure would allow children to purchase and own weapons. While passing in the House, the National Rifle Association-supported measure failed to make it through the United States Senate.
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