FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Chambliss, Isakson Co-Sponsor Legislation Allowing D.C. Residents to Exercise Second Amendment Rights

WASHINGTON – U.S. senators Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., and Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., today co-sponsored an amendment to S.160, the D.C. Voting Rights bill, to permit residents of the District of Columbia to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

Residents of the district had been barred since 1976 from possessing handguns until a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year overturned the ban. However, the D.C. City Council is rewriting its gun laws with continued restrictions on gun ownership by law-abiding citizens.

“The right of Americans in every part of the country to own guns, whether for sport or protection, is clearly defined in the Constitution and must not be compromised,” said Chambliss. “Only a government that does not trust its citizens would refuse them the right to bear arms.”

“I support the Second Amendment right of all law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and their families,” Isakson said. “This step is essential to restoring to district residents the constitutionally guaranteed right to protect themselves.”

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