108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3193
AN ACT
To restore second amendment rights in the District
of Columbia.
108TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3193
AN ACT
To restore second amendment rights in the District of
Columbia.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘District of Columbia
Personal Protection Act’’.
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Second Amendment to the United
States Constitution provides that the right of the
people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
(2) The Second Amendment to the United
States Constitution protects the rights of individ-
uals, including those who are not members of a mili-
tia or engaged in military service or training, to
keep and bear arms.
(3) The law-abiding citizens of the District of
Columbia are deprived by local laws of handguns, ri-
fles, and shotguns that are commonly kept by law-
abiding persons throughout the rest of the United
States for sporting use and for lawful defense of
persons, homes, and families.
(4) The District of Columbia has the highest
per capita murder rate in the Nation, which may be
attributed in part to local laws prohibiting posses-
sion of firearms by law-abiding persons who would
otherwise be able to defend themselves and their
loved ones in their own homes and businesses.
(5) The Federal Gun Control Act of 1968, as
amended by the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of
1986, and the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention
Act of 1993, provide comprehensive Federal regula-
tions applicable in the District of Columbia as else-
where. In addition, existing District of Columbia
criminal laws punish possession and illegal use of
firearms by violent criminals and felons. Con-
sequently, there is no need for local laws which only
disarm law-abiding citizens.
(6) Legislation is required to correct the Dis-
trict of Columbia’s law in order to restore the rights
of its citizens under the Second Amendment to the
United States Constitution and thereby enhance
public safety.
SEC. 3. REFORM D.C. COUNCIL’S AUTHORITY TO RESTRICT
FIREARMS.
Section 4 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to prohibit the
killing of wild birds and wild animals in the District of
Columbia’’, approved June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 809; sec.
1–303.43, D.C. Official Code) is amended by adding at
the end the following: ‘‘This section shall not be construed
to permit the Council, the Mayor, or any governmental
or regulatory authority of the District of Columbia to pro-
hibit, constructively prohibit, or unduly burden the ability
of persons otherwise permitted to possess firearms under
Federal law from acquiring, possessing in their homes or
businesses, or using for sporting, self-protection or other
lawful purposes, any firearm neither prohibited by Federal
law nor regulated by the National Firearms Act. The Dis-
trict of Columbia shall not have authority to enact laws
or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private
ownership or use of firearms.’’.
SEC. 4. REPEAL D.C. SEMIAUTOMATIC BAN.
Section 101(10) of the Firearms Control Regulations
Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2501.01(10), D.C. Official Code) is
amended to read as follows:
‘‘(10) Machine gun means any firearm which
shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily con-
verted or restored to shoot automatically, more than
1 shot by a single function of the trigger.’’.
SEC. 5. REPEAL REGISTRATION REQUIREMENT.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 201(a) of the Firearms
Control Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2502.01(a), D.C.
Official Code) is amended by striking ‘‘any firearm, un-
less’’ and all that follows through paragraph (3) and in-
serting the following: ‘‘any firearm described in subsection
(c).’’.
(b) DESCRIPTION OF FIREARMS REMAINING ILLE-
GAL.—Section 201 of such Act (sec. 7–2502.01, D.C. Offi-
cial Code) is amended by adding at the end the following
new subsection:
‘‘(c) A firearm described in this subsection is any of
the following:
‘‘(1) A sawed-off shotgun.
‘‘(2) A machine gun.
‘‘(3) A short-barreled rifle.’’.
SEC. 6. REPEAL HANDGUN AMMUNITION BAN.
Section 601 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act
of 1975 (sec. 7–2506.01, D.C. Official Code) is repealed.
SEC. 7. RESTORE RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE IN THE HOME.
Section 702 of the Firearms Control Regulations Act
of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.02, D.C. Official Code) is repealed.
SEC. 8. ADDITIONAL REPEALS.
Sections 202 through 211 of the Firearms Control
Regulations Act of 1975 (secs. 7–2502.02 through 7–
2502.11, D.C. Official Code) are repealed.
SEC. 9. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR POSSESSION
OF UNREGISTERED FIREARMS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 706 of the Firearms Con-
trol Regulations Act of 1975 (sec. 7–2507.06, D.C. Offi-
cial Code) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘that:’’ and all that follows
through ‘‘(1) A’’ and inserting ‘‘that a’’; and
(2) by striking paragraph (2).
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to violations occur-
ring after the 60-day period which begins on the date of
the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 10. REMOVE CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR CARRYING A
FIREARM IN ONE’S DWELLING OR OTHER
PREMISES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Act of July
8, 1932 (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22—4504(a), D.C. Official
Code) is amended—
(1) in the matter before paragraph (1), by
striking ‘‘a pistol,’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘ex-
cept in his dwelling house or place of business or on
other land possessed by that person, whether loaded
or unloaded, a firearm,’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘except that:’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘(2) If the violation’’ and inserting
‘‘except that if the violation’’.
(b) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN EXCEPTIONS.—Section
5(a) of such Act (47 Stat. 651; sec. 22—4505(a), D.C.
Official Code) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘pistol’’ each place it appears
and inserting ‘‘firearm’’; and
(2) by striking the period at the end and insert-
ing the following: ‘‘, or to any person while carrying
or transporting a firearm used in connection with an
organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or
informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunt-
ing, a firearms or hunter safety class, trapping, or
a dog obedience training class or show, or the mov-
ing by a bona fide gun collector of part or all of the
collector’s gun collection from place to place for pub-
lic or private exhibition while the person is engaged
in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if
each firearm is unloaded and carried in an enclosed
case or an enclosed holster, or to any person car-
rying or transporting a firearm in compliance with
sections 926A, 926B or 926C of title 18, United
States Code.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
this section shall apply with respect to violations occurring
after the 60-day period which begins on the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives September 29,
2004.
Attest:
Clerk.