The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 6842, which brings the Second Amendment rights for the citizens of Washington, D.C. in-line with the recent Supreme Court decision District of Columbia v. Heller. Idaho Congressman Simpson supported this legislation and it passed the House with a vote of 266-152.

This legislation was necessary because the District of Columbia city government had been slow to enact the new requirements and created numerous new restrictions on handgun ownership after the Supreme Court decision.

"Our country’s highest court ruled that all Americans have the right to bear arms, including those who reside within our nation’s capitol," said Simpson. "Congress needed to send the District of Columbia a message - they must adhere to the Supreme Court’s ruling."

H.R. 6842 clarifies that the D.C. government may not "prohibit or unduly burden" the ability of individuals to possess firearms for self protection or other lawful purposes. It does so through four main provisions:

• It repeals the D.C. city ban on semiautomatic pistols and rifles.
• It eliminates the regulation requiring guns in the home be kept unloaded and either fitted with trigger locks or disassembled.
• It abolishes the city’s gun-registration requirements.
• It allows D.C. residents to purchase guns in Maryland and Virginia.

D.C. law was previously one of the most draconian gun bans in the United States, and the Court’s decision reaffirmed the individual right of Americans to bear arms.