Tester Teams Up With McCain to Repeal D.C. Gun Laws

Washington D.C. news outlets are reporting Tuesday that Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester and Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain are introducing legislation that would repeal gun laws in the nation’s capitol. The bill comes just a week after D.C. residents were denied representation in Congress in order to spare its gun regulations. From WTOP.com:

The bill would repeal the District's ban on semi-automatic weapons and remove the requirement that guns be kept unloaded and disassembled when stored in the home or office.

It would also authorize District residents to buy guns and ammunition in Maryland and Virginia, and it would repeal registration requirements.

Also, from the Washington Post:
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), the bill’s sponsors, say the measure is intended to ensure that the District has complied with a landmark 2008 Supreme Court decision.

But Joshua Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop the Violence, said the legislation fails to recognize that the D.C. Council passed new laws last year to comply with the decision, which have been upheld by a federal judge. The city has already repealed the ban on semiautomatic weapons and allows residents to keep loaded guns in their homes.