Norton Protests as House Calls for Military Personnel to be Exempt From D.C. Gun Laws

The House approved a non-binding measure late Thursday night calling for active-duty military personnel to be exempt from the District’s gun laws, the latest in a series of issues that have divided Congress and local leaders.

The “Sense of Congress” resolution — offered by Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) as an amendment to the massive Defense authorization bill — has no force of law and passed by voice vote, without a roll call. But it still drew a harsh response from Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D), who was already smarting from being denied the chance to testify Thursday at a hearing on a measure that would ban late-term abortions in the District.

“If Representative Gingrey believes that active duty military personnel should be exempt from federal or state or local firearms laws, why did he not offer an amendment that would apply nationwide?” Norton asked on the House floor Thursday night. “Perhaps he did not offer such an amendment for the same reason that the Republican sponsor of the bill to ban abortions after 20 weeks in the District of Columbia did not introduce a 20-week bill that would apply nationwide, either. They pick on D.C. because they think they can.” . . .

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-wire/post/norton-prot ests-as-house-calls-for-military-personnel-to-be-exempt-from-dc-gun-laws/2012/05/18/gIQAsRDZYU_blog.html

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