D.C. Outlawing Guns In Homes?

My husband pointed me to an article he found today in the Washington Post from Saturday, March 10, 2007; Page A01. Here are a few snip its, along with my thoughts and comments. You can read the article in it's entirety by clicking here, and I would urge you to do so.

...A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the District's longtime ban on keeping handguns in homes is unconstitutional.

The 2 to 1 decision by an appellate panel outraged D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and other city leaders, who said that they will appeal and that gun-related crimes could rise if the ruling takes effect...

...The panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit became the nation's first federal appeals court to overturn a gun-control law by declaring that the Second Amendment grants a person the right to possess firearms...

...Fenty (D) said the city is committed to pursuing additional appeals, adding: "I am personally deeply disappointed and frankly outraged by this decision. It flies in the face of laws that have helped decrease gun violence in the District of Columbia."...

...Fenty said city officials will "do everything in our power to work to get the decision overturned, and we will vigorously enforce our handgun laws during that time."...

...Yesterday's majority opinion said that the District has a right to regulate and require the registration of firearms but not to ban them in homes. The ruling also struck down a section of the D.C. law that required owners of registered guns, including shotguns, to disassemble them or use trigger locks, saying that would render the weapons useless.

In her dissent, Henderson wrote that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms relates to those Militia whose continued vitality is required to safeguard the individual States." She also said that because the District is not a state, the Second Amendment does not apply...

...Critics have long said that the D.C. law is ineffective, noting that the city has had hundreds of homicides in recent years, most of which were committed with handguns. Of last year's 169 homicides, 137 were committed with firearms, D.C. police said. Enforcing the strict handgun ban is difficult with so many guns on the streets, but police recovered more than 2,600 guns last year.

This was not lost on the Court of Appeals. In a footnote, Silberman noted that "the black market for handguns in the District is so strong that handguns are readily available (probably at little premium) to criminals. It is asserted, therefore, that the D.C. gun control laws irrationally prevent only law abiding citizens from owning handguns."...

..."Let's be honest: Although there are many fine officers in the police department, there's a simple test. Call Domino's Pizza or the police, and time which one gets there first," Palmer said...

...NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said, "The only people who have anything to fear from a decision like this are the people who intend to break into someone's home in the middle of the night."

But former U.S. deputy attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. said that weakening the gun law "opens the door to more people having more access to guns and putting guns on the streets."...

...D.C. resident Kenny Barnes, who became a gun control advocate after his 37-year-old son was shot to death on U Street NW, called the ruling "crazy."
"What kind of message are you sending?" Barnes asked. "This is not Dodge City in the 1800s."...

My biggest bone of contention regarding what is happening in Washington D.C. is that out lawing anything, only guarantees that those who are going to follow the laws won't have what you just out lawed. Those that are going to break the law won't care what law you just passed. They will go about their business anyway. This fact has been proven ever since this law was passed in Washington D.C. The crime rate has not gone down, and guns are still being used in increasing numbers to commit them. Another perfect example of how badly this approach works is found in the United Kingdom. Handguns are illegal there, and not even the regular police force carries them. Guess who still does? That's right! The criminals! So the handgun ban accomplished what exactly? NRA Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre, who was quoted in one of my snip its above, hit the nail right on the head. I completely agree with him that the only ones who have anything to fear when regular citizens own guns, and have them in their homes, are the people who intend to break into a home where a gun lives. I mean, after all (and this was my favorite line in the whole article by the way),

..."Let's be honest: Although there are many fine officers in the police department, there's a simple test. Call Domino's Pizza or the police, and time which one gets there first," Palmer said...

Secondly, this Henderson gal states that because Washington D.C. isn't a state the Second Amendment doesn't apply. What a scary, and utterly unintelligent thing to say. It is still a part of the United States of America, and The Constitution and all of it's amendments apply to the entire country. With her reasoning slavery could still be legal, and women wouldn't be allowed to vote in Washington D.C. Not only that, but she does not have the right to her freedom of speech, or the right to pursue happiness if she lives in Washington D.C. She of course would point to the fact that the Second Amendment states:

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."

What she fails to realize is that the word "State", when capitalized and in this context, refers to the nation as a whole. I learned that in American Government in high school, and it was reiterated again in college.

Is anyone else out there praying that D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty doesn't move to their state? I know that I will be tonight before I go to bed. He poses a much bigger threat to me and my freedom than my neighbor owning a gun.