CNSNews.com reported last week that attorneys representing six D.C. residents
in the high-profile Second Amendment Parker case are warning that attempts by "well-meaning members of Congress" to
repeal the 1976 Washington, D.C., gun ban could
backfire by keeping the case out of the U.S. Supreme Court.

From the story:

"We appreciate that the Second Amendment's many
friends in Congress want to express themselves on the
D.C. gun ban, and there are ways in which Congress can
have a tremendously positive impact," said Alan Gura,
lead counsel in Parker v. District of Columbia, which
challenged the 1976 D.C. gun ban.

But "Congress has to act very carefully," Gura told
Cybercast News Service after a panel discussion of the
case.

"A congressional repeal of the D.C. gun ban right now
could erase the recent court victory," he said,
referring to the March 9 ruling by U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia that said the
Second Amendment protects an individual right to keep
and bear arms.

"All of our hard work would be wasted," Gura warned.

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March 28, 2007

An Open Letter to the United States Senate

Dear Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:

It recently came to my attention that one of your colleagues, Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, has chosen to attack firearms owners using remarks I wrote in mid-February as his launch pad. As you probably know, Sen. Levin has been making anti-gun speeches every week for the past eight years because of a promise he made to the Economic Club of Detroit in May 1999.

Mr. Levin has an agenda, and he should have spoken to me before using my name in one of his speeches, especially since his remarks were entered into the Congressional Record. I would like my remarks here entered into the Congressional Record as well.

Sen. Levin is only one of 16 members of the Senate to vote against the Vitter Amendment to the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. This amendment prohibits the confiscation of a privately-owned firearm during an emergency or major disaster when possession of that gun is not prohibited under state or federal law.

Eighty-four senators voted for that amendment, inspired by the egregious confiscation of firearms from the citizens of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina in the summer of 2005. Those seizures, you will recall, led the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association to join in a landmark civil rights lawsuit in federal court that brought the confiscations to an abrupt end.

The taking of private property without warrant or probable cause – even firearms – was considered an outrage by millions of American citizens, and yet Sen. Levin joined 15 of his colleagues in voting against this measure. It is no small wonder that Sen. Levin gets an “F” rating from gun rights organizations. He would have American citizens disarmed and left defenseless at a time when they need their firearms the most, when social order collapses into anarchy and protecting one’s self and one’s family is not simply a right and responsibility, it becomes a necessity.

That in mind, Sen. Levin must know that almost immediately after I wrote those remarks, I recanted and apologized to the millions of Americans who lawfully and responsibly own, compete with and hunt with semi-automatic rifles. I took a “crash course” on these firearms and visited with my good friend Ted Nugent on his ranch in Texas, where I personally shot an AR-15 and educated myself with these firearms.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire letter.