Eleanor Holmes Norton: “I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Massie of Kentucky is not accountable to the residents of the District of…”

“I thank my good friend for yielding. Mr. Massie of Kentucky is not accountable to the residents of the District of Columbia, but he is offering an amendment to effectively wipe out all of the District's gun safety laws now and in the future. Even if one were to agree with him, his is an entirely inappropriate amendment on an appropriation bill. A pending bill right now in this House would accomplish this end. He is a Member of the majority. If he wants to end gun laws, he has the authority to bring that bill to the floor. This amendment is being offered by a Member who claims, at every turn, to support the principle of local control or local affairs, yet he is using the big foot of the Federal Government to overturn local laws. Turning to the amendment itself, if this amendment passes, every gun law in this big city--which shares the same gun violence issues with other big cities and is also the Nation's capital--would be gone. While we are still reviewing the full effects of this amendment, it appears to prohibit the District government, including the Metropolitan Police Department, from enforcing almost all of the gun laws of the District of Columbia, making the District perhaps the most permissive gun jurisdiction in the country. The D.C.…”