Hoping to head off an effort by Congress that would gut the District’s new gun regulations completely, Mayor Adrian Fenty announced yesterday that he was proposing a number of changes to mollify pro-gun activists unhappy with the current restrictions.

In a press release, Fenty detailed the changes he was seeking to the emergency regulations imposed after the Supreme Court found the District’s handgun ban to be unconstitutional in June. The changes would include allowing residents to own semi-automatic weapons while preserving a ban on automatic weapons; making existing mandatory storage requirements mere recommendations and imposing penalties if minors access guns in homes; and clarifying existing laws as to when guns can be carried without a license to include the home, the owner’s place of business and for lawful recreational purposes. If these changes seem familiar, they should — Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) proposed a similar list last week. The changes will be discussed today at the D.C. Council’s legislative session.

Is it enough to stop the U.S. House from moving ahead on their legislative attempt to do away with all of the city’s gun regulations? Probably not, since the effort has been designed to give conservative Blue Dog Democrats cover for the coming November election. Fortunately, the measure could easily die in the Senate and probably won’t be given much more attention by Democratic leaders after the elections. That still doesn’t soothe our nerves over this crassly political violation of the District’s ability to govern itself, though.

In related news, yesterday DC Vote released the results of a poll they commissioned that found that 69 percent of Americans oppose the congressional move and 60 percent believe that Washington would be less safe if the measure passed. (A .PDF of the results can be seen here.)

Photo by Bullneck