D.C. Councilman Phil Mendelson is brushing aside warnings from Adrian Fenty’s administration to back away from gun-control legislation, and is urging his colleagues to adopt emergency laws next week.
Mendelson, D-at large, told fellow council members that they should pass a new law before they recess for the summer on July 16. The District has only a few days left to comply with the Supreme Court’s monumental ruling that struck down D.C.’s restrictive gun-control laws.
The 5-4 majority in Heller v. District of Columbia held that the right to bear arms for self-defense is guaranteed by the Second Amendment. It not only crushed D.C.’s laws, but imperiled gun-control laws around the country. Mendelson gained unanimous support last week for a bill that he said incorporated the court’s concerns while still regulating dangerous weapons.
But Mayor Adrian Fenty and acting Attorney General Peter Nickles asked Mendelson to shelve the legislation.
“We’ve had a task force working on this thatknows the gun laws,” Nickles told The Examiner Tuesday. “Given the talent we have and our work on the regulatory framework, it’s a better fit that we provide a comprehensive package.”
Nickles said he’d send his own gun-control law that he thinks is “somewhat more appropriate.”
“We’ll work it out,” he said.
If approved, Mendelson’s bill would allow residents to register handguns but it would still require them to keep the weapons unloaded and disassembled, or sealed off with trigger locks. It would allow citizens to reassemble the guns for “immediate self-defense.”
Gun rights advocates have threatened to sue again if D.C. does not adopt a more liberal policy.
Mendelson issued a statement Tuesday, saying that moving the legislation forward quickly is the most “prudent” course.
“The administration has ample opportunity to participate,” Mendelson told The Examiner.
