I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1399 

To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of Columbia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2007 

Mr. ROSS (for himself and Mr. SOUDER) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

A BILL 

To restore Second Amendment rights in the District of 

Columbia. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia 

5 Personal Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The Second Amendment to the United 

9 States Constitution provides that the right of the 

10 people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 


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1 (2) The Second Amendment to the United 

2 States Constitution protects the rights of individ3 uals, including those who are not members of a mili4 tia or engaged in military service or training, to 

5 keep and bear arms. 

6 (3) The law-abiding citizens of the District of 

7 Columbia are deprived by local laws of handguns, ri8 fles, and shotguns that are commonly kept by law9 abiding persons throughout the United States for 

10 sporting use and for lawful defense of their persons, 

11 homes, businesses, and families. 

12 (4) The District of Columbia has the highest 

13 per capita murder rate in the Nation, which may be 

14 attributed in part to local laws prohibiting posses15 sion of firearms by law-abiding persons who would 

16 otherwise be able to defend themselves and their 

17 loved ones in their own homes and businesses. 

18 (5) The Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as 

19 amended by the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 

20 1986, and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention 

21 Act of 1993, provide comprehensive Federal regula22 tions applicable in the District of Columbia as else23 where. In addition, existing District of Columbia 

24 criminal laws punish possession and illegal use of 

25 firearms by violent criminals and felons. ConVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:20 Mar 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1399.IH H1399

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1 sequently, there is no need for local laws which only 

2 affect and disarm law-abiding citizens. 

3 (6) Legislation is required to correct the Dis4 trict of Columbia’s law in order to restore the funda5 mental rights of its citizens under the Second 

6 Amendment to the United States Constitution and 

7 thereby enhance public safety. 

8 SEC. 3. REFORM D.C. COUNCIL’S AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT 

9 FIREARMS. 

10 Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to prohibit the 

11 killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of 

12 Columbia’’, approved June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 809; sec. 

13 1–303.43, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at 

14 the end the following: ‘‘Nothing in this section or any 

15 other provision of law shall authorize, or shall be con16 strued to permit, the Council, the Mayor, or any govern17 mental or regulatory authority of the District of Columbia 

18 to prohibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the 

19 ability of persons not prohibited from possessing firearms 

20 under Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their 

21 homes or businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection 

22 or other lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited 

23 by Federal law nor subject to the National Firearms Act. 

24 The District of Columbia shall not have authority to enact 


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1 laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the pri2 vate ownership or use of firearms.’’. 

3 SEC. 4. REPEAL D.C. SEMIAUTOMATIC BAN. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 101(10) of the Firearms 

5 Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2501.01(10), 

6 D.C. Official Code) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(10) ‘Machine gun’ means any firearm which 

8 shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily con9 verted or restored to shoot automatically, more than 

10 1 shot by a single function of the trigger, and in11 cludes the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any 

12 part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or 

13 combination of parts designed and intended, for use 

14 in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any 

15 combination of parts from which a machine gun can 

16 be assembled if such parts are in the possession or 

17 under the control of a person.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO PROVISIONS SET19 TING FORTH CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—Section 1(c) of the 

20 Act of July 8, 1932 (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22–4501(c), D.C. 

21 Official Code) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(c) ‘Machine gun’, as used in this Act, has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 101(10) of the Fire24 arms Control Regulations Act of 1975.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPEAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT. 

2 (a) REPEAL OF REQUIREMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 201(a) of the Fire4 arms Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7– 

5 2502.01(a), D.C. Official Code) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘any firearm, unless’’ and all that follows 

7 through paragraph (3) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘any firearm described in subsection (c).’’. 

9 (2) DESCRIPTION OF FIREARMS REMAINING IL10 LEGAL.—Section 201 of such Act (sec. 7–2502.01, 

11 D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(c) A firearm described in this subsection is any of 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(1) A sawed-off shotgun. 

16 ‘‘(2) A machine gun. 

17 ‘‘(3) A short-barreled rifle.’’. 

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The heading 

19 of section 201 of such Act (sec. 7–2502.01, D.C. Of20 ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘Registration re21 quirements’’ and inserting ‘‘Firearm Possession’’. 

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO FIREARMS CON23 TROL REGULATIONS ACT.—The Firearms Control Regu24 lations Act of 1975 is amended as follows: 


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1 (1) Sections 202 through 211 (secs. 7–2502.02 

2 through 7–2502.11, D.C. Official Code) are re3 pealed. 

4 (2) Section 101 (sec. 7–2501.01, D.C. Official 

5 Code) is amended by striking paragraph (13). 

6 (3) Section 401 (sec. 7–2504.01, D.C. Official 

7 Code) is amended— 

8 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the Dis9 trict;’’ and all that follows and inserting the fol10 lowing: ‘‘the District, except that a person may 

11 engage in hand loading, reloading, or custom 

12 loading of ammunition for firearms lawfully 

13 possessed under this Act.’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘which 

15 are unregisterable under section 202’’ and in16 serting ‘‘which are prohibited under section 

17 201’’. 

18 (4) Section 402 (sec. 7–2504.02, D.C. Official 

19 Code) is amended— 

20 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Any 

21 person eligible to register a firearm’’ and all 

22 that follows through ‘‘such business,’’ and in23 serting the following: ‘‘Any person not other24 wise prohibited from possessing or receiving a 

25 firearm under Federal of District law, or from 


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1 being licensed under section 923 of title 18, 

2 United States Code,’’; and 

3 (B) in subsection (b), by amending para4 graph (1) to read as follows: 

5 ‘‘(1) The applicant’s name;’’. 

6 (5) Section 403(b) (sec. 7–2504.03(b), D.C. Of7 ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘registration cer8 tificate’’ and inserting ‘‘dealer’s license’’. 

9 (6) Section 404(a)(3) (sec. 7–2504.04(a)(3)), 

10 D.C. Official Code) is amended— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 

12 ‘‘registration certificate number (if any) of the 

13 firearm,’’; 

14 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by striking 

15 ‘‘holding the registration certificate’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘from whom it was received for repair’’; 

17 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 

18 ‘‘and registration certificate number (if any) of 

19 the firearm’’; 

20 (D) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 

21 ‘‘registration certificate number or’’; 

22 (E) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by striking 

23 ‘‘or registration number’’; and 


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1 (F) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

2 clause (iii) and redesignating clauses (iv) and 

3 (v) as clauses (iii) and (iv). 

4 (7) Section 406(c) (sec. 7–2504.06(c), D.C. Of5 ficial Code) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) Within 45 days of a decision becoming effective 

7 which is unfavorable to a licensee or to an applicant for 

8 a dealer’s license, the licensee or application shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) lawfully remove from the District all de10 structive devices in his inventory, or peaceably sur11 render to the Chief all destructive devices in his in12 ventory in the manner provided in section 705; and 

13 ‘‘(2) lawfully dispose, to himself or to another, 

14 any firearms and ammunition in his inventory.’’. 

15 (8) Section 407(b) (sec. 7–2504.07(b), D.C. Of16 ficial Code) is amended by striking ‘‘would not be el17 igible’’ and all that follows and inserting ‘‘is prohib18 ited from possessing or receiving a firearm under 

19 Federal or District law.’’. 

20 (9) Section 502 (sec. 7–2505.02, D.C. Official 

21 Code) is amended— 

22 (A) by amending subsection (a) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(a) Any person or organization not prohibited from 

25 possessing or receiving a firearm under Federal or District 


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1 law may sell or otherwise transfer ammunition or any fire2 arm, except those which are prohibited under section 201, 

3 to a licensed dealer.’’; 

4 (B) by amending subsection (c) to read as 

5 follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) Any licensed dealer may sell or otherwise trans7 fer a firearm to any person or organization not otherwise 

8 prohibited from possessing or receiving such firearm under 

9 Federal or District law.’’; 

10 (C) in subsection (d), by striking para11 graphs (2) and (3); and 

12 (D) by striking subsection (e). 

13 (10) Section 704 (sec. 7–2507.04, D.C. Official 

14 Code) is amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘any reg16 istration certificate or’’ and inserting ‘‘a’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘reg18 istration certificate,’’. 

19 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

20 2(4) of the Illegal Firearm Sale and Distribution Strict 

21 Liability Act of 1992 (sec. 7–2531.01(2)(4), D.C. Official 

22 Code) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or ignor24 ing proof of the purchaser’s residence in the District 

25 of Columbia’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘registra2 tion and’’. 

3 SEC. 6. REPEAL HANDGUN AMMUNITION BAN. 

4 (a) DEFINITION OF RESTRICTED PISTOL BULLET.— 

5 Section 101(13a) of the Firearms Control Regulations Act 

6 of 1975 (sec. 7–2501.01(13a)) is amended to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(13a)(A) ‘Restricted pistol bullet’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) a projectile or projectile core which 

10 may be used in a handgun and which is con11 structed entirely (excluding the presence of 

12 traces of other substances) from one or a com13 bination of tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, 

14 bronze, beryllium copper, or depleted uranium; 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(ii) a full-jacketed projectile larger than 

17 .22 caliber designed and intended for use in a 

18 handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more 

19 than 25 percent of the total weight of the pro20 jectile. 

21 ‘‘(B) The term ‘restricted pistol bullet’ does not 

22 include shotgun shot required by Federal or State 

23 environmental or game regulations for hunting pur24 poses, a frangible projectile designed for target 

25 shooting, a projectile which the Attorney General of 


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1 the United States (pursuant to section 921(a)(17) of 

2 title 18, United States Code) finds is primarily in3 tended to be used for sporting purposes, or any 

4 other projectile or projectile core which the Attorney 

5 General finds is intended to be used for industrial 

6 purposes, including a charge used in an oil and gas 

7 well perforating device.’’. 

8 (b) REPEAL OF BAN.—Section 601 of the Firearms 

9 Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2506.01, D.C. 

10 Official Code) is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘ammunition’’ each place it ap12 pears (other than paragraph (4)) and inserting ‘‘re13 stricted pistol bullets’’; and 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and redesignating 

15 paragraph (4) as paragraph (3). 

16 SEC. 7. RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE IN THE HOME. 

17 Section 702 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act 

18 of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.02, D.C. Official Code) is repealed. 

19 SEC. 8. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION 

20 OF UNREGISTERED FIREARMS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Firearms Con22 trol Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.06, D.C. Offi23 cial Code) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘that:’’ and all that follows 

25 through ‘‘(1) A’’ and inserting ‘‘that a’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 

2 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

3 subsection (a) shall apply with respect to violations occur4 ring after the 60-day period which begins on the date of 

5 the enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 9. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CARRYING A 

7 FIREARM IN ONE’S DWELLING OR OTHER 

8 PREMISES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Act of July 

10 8, 1932 (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22–4504(a), D.C. Official 

11 Code) is amended— 

12 (1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by 

13 striking ‘‘a pistol,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘ex14 cept in his dwelling house or place of business or on 

15 other land possessed by that person, whether loaded 

16 or unloaded, a firearm,’’; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘except that:’’ and all that fol18 lows through ‘‘(2) If the violation’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘except that if the violation’’. 

20 (b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS.—Section 

21 5(a) of such Act (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22–4505(a), D.C. Of22 ficial Code) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘pistol’’ each place it appears 

24 and inserting ‘‘firearm’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert2 ing the following: ‘‘, or to any person while carrying 

3 or transporting a firearm used in connection with an 

4 organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or 

5 informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunt6 ing, a firearms or hunter safety class, trapping, or 

7 a dog obedience training class or show, or the mov8 ing by a bona fide gun collector of part or all of the 

9 collector’s gun collection from place to place for pub10 lic or private exhibition while the person is engaged 

11 in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if 

12 each firearm is unloaded and carried in an enclosed 

13 case or an enclosed holster, or to any person car14 rying or transporting a firearm in compliance with 

15 sections 926A, 926B or 926C of title 18, United 

16 States Code.’’. 

17 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring 

19 after the 60-day period which begins on the date of the 

20 enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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