Limit on Gun Law Passes; Senate Vote Unlikely

The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly yesterday to legalize semiautomatic rifles in the District and repeal its gun registration laws, but the bill's future appeared in doubt as a prominent senator announced she would try to block it.

"If this bill comes to the floor of the United States Senate, I will do everything in my power to stop it," Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

The House bill passed 266 to 152, with the support of 85 Democrats. It was the second time in four years that the chamber had voted to overturn most D.C. gun laws. The 2004 measure died in the Senate, and a similar result is likely this time.

Nonetheless, the latest House action may have already had a tangible effect. The District announced Tuesday that it was further easing its gun restrictions to comply with the historic Supreme Court decision in June tossing out the city's 32-year-old handgun ban. House members said they were not impressed because the city had been so slow to act.

The House debate on the D.C. gun bill began Tuesday night and stretched past midnight, with fiery speeches about the city's crime rate and Second Amendment rights. But legislators from both parties charged that the vote was less about D.C. affairs and more about scoring points with constituents and the National Rifle Association, which had called the bill its top priority.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), who fought to have the House approve language simply ordering the District to comply with the Supreme Court ruling, said her effort failed "courtesy of NRA threats and campaign contributions."

Still, Norton appeared optimistic that the broader measure would not become law. She said at least a half-dozen senators planned to put "holds" on the legislation. Such a move subjects the bill to hurdles that would be difficult to clear before the Senate's adjournment, scheduled for Sept. 26.

"Many other efforts are underway by our friends in the Senate to assure that the bill dies," she said.

Feinstein, a former mayor and longtime supporter of gun control, said yesterday that she believed the legislation passed by the House "places the families of the District of Columbia in great jeopardy."

Proponents appealed to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to bring the measure up for a vote before the congressional session concludes.

"The president wants to sign the bill this year," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino, adding that the president was urging the Senate "to take action on the House-passed bill as quickly as possible to ensure that the residents of the District are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights in a robust and meaningful way."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Tex.) made a similar request in a letter to Reid that had been signed by 36 senators as of yesterday evening.