| WASHINGTON, DC -- The
Independent Women’s Forum today applauds legislation introduced
Thursday by U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison which would repeal
the District of Columbia’s arcane ban on gun ownership.
Currently, it is a felony to own a handgun if you are a resident
of DC. "As a single woman living alone in DC, I am incensed
that I can’t own a gun to protect myself," said Louise Filkins,
IWF’s communications director. "Women are particularly
vulnerable to crime and denying them the right to own a gun is
clearly anti-woman. This gun ban has been in effect almost 30
years, yet the District still continues to have one of the
highest crime rates in the nation."
DC Mayor Anthony Williams and DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes
Norton have vowed to defeat the legislation calling the
legislation a "rude insult" to residents.
"I find it a rude insult that Williams and Norton don’t trust
law-abiding citizens to own a gun," Filkins added. "They have
failed to protect the citizens of DC from crime and therefore we
should be allowed to protect ourselves. It’s time Congress and
the District of Columbia restore our right to bear arms, which
is guaranteed to us by the U.S. Constitution." |