In addition, the bill would prohibit local D.C. lawmakers from enacting any new gun control laws that “discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms.”

City residents and officials overwhelmingly support the existing gun laws and are enraged at the lack of input the bill would allow them on this community issue. Mayor Anthony A. Williams told House leaders he takes “sharp exception to this wholly inappropriate intrusion into what is clearly a local matter.” Both Williams and House Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton have been outspoken in their opposition to this proposed bill.

Opponents of the bill cite the gun-free environment at the U.S. Capitol Building as proof that legislators recognize the danger of an armed society. Many are outraged because they feel their Representatives have secured a safe environment for themselves while surrendering the citizens in the city around them to a “free-fire zone.” D.C. citizen and activist Hannah Hawkins rhetorically asked the Associated Press, “If the Capitol can be handgun free, why can’t we?”

Proponents of the bill, who are strongly backed by the National Rifle Association, claim the purpose of the legislation is to re-establish 2nd Amendment rights to D.C. citizens. "The bill will restore the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and to defend their families against murderous predators," said a spokeswoman for Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah. In January 2004, a Federal court ruled against them stating that the handgun ban, contested by NRA, was indeed constitutional.

The bill, known as the D.C. Personal Protection Act, is expected to pass easily in the U.S House of Representatives. Iowa Representatives Leonard Boswell (3), Steve King (5), Tom Latham (4), and Jim Nussle (1) are among the 228 co-sponsors for the bill, a majority in the 435 member house. Rep. Mark Edward Souder (R-Indiana), the original sponsor of the bill, has said that GOP leadership has promised a vote on the bill before the Nov 2 elections.

The Senate bill, of the same name, has 34 co-sponsors including Iowa Senator Charles Grassley. Earlier this month, Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho) attempted to pass the bill by adding it onto the D.C. appropriations bill in committee but he abandoned the effort after finding that he lacked the votes to pass the repeal. A spokesman for Craig indicated that Senate gun advocates would wait for the vote in the House to determine their next course of action.