Scope of Proposed D.C. Gun Bill Questioned
- Post 26 September 2012
- By Copy Editor
A proposed bill in the District that would decriminalize some gun and ammunition charges for nonresidents will send the wrong message about gun laws in the District, the city’s office of the attorney general said at a hearing Monday.
The bill under consideration would allow some legal gun owners who don’t live in the District and are caught traveling with their guns through the city to pay a fine and be released from custody rather than go to court on charges of possession of an unregistered firearm or unlawful possession of ammunition.
But Andrew Fois, deputy attorney general and head of the agency’s public safety division, told the D.C. Council's Committee on the Judiciary that allowing firearms-related cases to be considered eligible for such resolutions will change the scope of the typically low-level offenses handled outside the courts.
He said administrative dispositions are “not intended, nor appropriate, for firearms-related offenses committed by either nonresidents or residents.”
“Certainly the line has to be drawn somewhere on what sorts of offenses are appropriate for this procedure and which ones are not,” Mr. Fois said. ... Full Story The Washington Times...
"Question all which is 'taught,' dig deeper, think clearly, respond profusely. Conformity is the antithesis of free thought and self-determination." -- Standard Pearls