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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DEFEATS
ALL GUN PROVISIONS!
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Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 147 to 280 to
eliminate all gun provisions from H.R. 1501, its version of
juvenile justice reform. This vote capped two days of heated
debate in the House, where Representatives made it clear they
were responding to the concerns of America's millions of
law-abiding gun owners.
The House first voted late Thursday
night to attach an amendment by Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) to
H.R. 2122, the firearms section of their juvenile justice
legislation. The Dingell Amendment, approved on a 218-211
bipartisan vote, clarified H.R. 2122 by reducing possible delays
Rep. Dingell
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for firearms transfers at gun shows to no more than 24 hours and
clearly defining what constitutes the "sale" of a firearm at a
gun show. The base text of H.R. 2122 already made vast
improvements over the Senate's version of proposed regulations on
gun shows by requiring the immediate destruction of records on
firearm purchasers whose purchases are not denied through the
National Instant Check System (NICS), and permanently prohibiting
a federal gun tax for NICS inquiries.
Immediately after passing
the Dingell amendment, the House defeated an amendment by rabidly
anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), on a bipartisan 193-235
vote. McCarthy's amendment was similar to the Lautenberg gun
show ban. While supporters of the Dingell amendment used their
time to debate the merits of the proposal, opponents chose to use
their time to attack NRA and law-abiding gun owners with often
illogical, highly charged emotional outbursts. Rep. Patrick
Kennedy's (D-R.I.) irrational ranting and raving, when he accused
supporters of the Dingell amendment of wanting to allow criminals
to purchase firearms, had to take first prize for outrageous allegations.
The House continued their work on H.R 2122 today, when it
took up a number of additional firearm-related amendments. The
House passed:
- the Davis "Safe Storage Device" Amendment, that
requires manufacturers to include a "safe storage device" with
every new handgun;
- the Cunningham Concealed Carry Amendment, that
allows all current and retired law enforcement officers to carry
concealed firearms nationwide;
- the Hyde-McCollum Juvenile
"Assault Weapons" Amendment, that prohibits the possession by
juveniles of "assault weapons" and magazines capable of holding
more than 10 rounds of ammunition (with several exemptions to
these prohibitions for a number of lawful activities);
- the Rogan
Amendment, which prohibits a juvenile who commits a serious
violent felony from being able to purchase or own a firearm as an
adult;
- the Hunter Amendment on Handgun Ownership in D.C., that
would allow law-abiding residents of D.C. to possess a loaded
handgun in their home for personal protection;
- the Hyde-Lofgren
Magazine Import Ban Amendment, that prohibits the importation of
magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition
previously exempted from the 1994 ban; and
- the Sessions-Frost
Pawn Redemption Amendment, that requires a NICS check before any
firearm that has been pawned for more than one year is returned
to its owner.
The House defeated: the Goode D.C. Gun Ban Repeal
Amendment, that would repeal the District of Columbia's onerous
handgun ban; and the Conyers Substitute Amendment, which sought
to undermine the House's previous bipartisan efforts by replacing
the House gun language with the package of restrictions passed by
the Senate. The Hyde Age Limit amendment, that sought to ban
Rep. Barr on the floor |
the purchase or attempted purchase of handguns by persons under
21 from private citizens or at gun shows, was pulled from
consideration. Finally,
the House defeated H.R. 2122 on a
147-280 vote, meaning H.R. 1501, passed earlier in the week with
no gun provisions, becomes the complete House juvenile justice package.
At this time it is unclear what the next step will be for
juvenile justice legislation. However, we urge you to continue
to contact your federal lawmakers and urge them to support the
Second Amendment. Be sure to thank those Representatives who
supported our right to keep and bear arms, and remind those
lawmakers that have not been supportive that you will be paying
close attention to future votes. U.S. Senators can be reached by
calling (202) 224-3121, and Representatives can be reached at(202) 225-3121.
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This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.
This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at: http://WWW.NRA.Org
