U.S. Congressman John Boozman 3rd District of Arkansas

House Seal Outline

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Washington, Feb 8, 2008 - U.S. Representative John Boozman (R-AR) today joined 255 House Members and 50 Senators in filing a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to uphold a lower court ruling that the ban on handguns in the District of Columbia violates the Second Amendment.

“This court should give due deference to the repeated findings over different historical epochs by Congress, a co-equal branch of government, that the amendment guarantees the personal right to possess firearms,” the amici curiae brief argues.

“I have long been a proponent of the 2nd Amendment, as it is the one which guarantees our 1st Amendment,” Boozman said. “On this very day in Washington, a homeowner can be arrested for using a gun to defend themselves from a burglar. The D.C. gun ban is an affront to the personal freedoms of Americans. According to our Constitution, the people – not the government – have rights.”

Earlier this year, Rep. Boozman joined with fellow Arkansas Congressman Mike Ross to put forward the District of Columbia Personal Protection Act, granting law-abiding residents of the District of Columbia the right to own a gun.