Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.)

Rand Paul is the latest politician from another state who wants to run for office in D.C. Correction: He’s the latest politician from another state who wants to change laws in D.C. without being elected by its residents.

As the Post’s Mike DeBonis first reported, the Senator from Kentucky plans to introduce an amendment that would overturn D.C. gun laws to a Senate bill called the Bipartisan Sportsmen Act, “a measure that would make it easier to hunt and fish on some federal lands, allow the construction of more public shooting ranges at national parks and wildlife refuges and make it easier to purchase federal permits to hunt ducks, geese and other waterfowl.”

The amendment states:

The law abiding citizens of the District of Columbia are deprived by local laws of handguns, rifles, and shotguns that are commonly kept by law abiding persons throughout the United States for sporting use and for lawful defense of their persons, homes, businesses, and families.

The District of Columbia has the highest per capita murder rate in the Nation, which may be attributed in part to local laws prohibiting possession of firearms by law abiding persons who would otherwise be able to defend themselves and their loved ones in their own homes and businesses.

When compared to states, Paul is correct that D.C. has the highest per capita murder rate. But when compared to cities, D.C.’s per capita murder rate in lower than Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, Baltimore, Newark, Oakland, Stockton, Kansas City, Philadelphia and nine other cities. D.C.’s murder rate also declined by 18.5 percent between 2011 and 2012.

The amendment continues:

The District of Columbia shall not have authority to enact laws or regulations that discourage or eliminate the private ownership or use of firearms. Nothing in the previous two sentences shall be construed to prohibit the District
of Columbia from regulating or prohibiting the carrying of firearms by a person, either concealed or openly, other than at the person’s dwelling place, place of business, or
on other land possessed by the person.

“Senator Paul, the tea party standard-bearer, seems to leave his small government, libertarian views at the District line when it comes to the District of Columbia,” D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton said in a statement. “Based on his support for reducing the power of the federal government and devolving that power to states and local governments, including his visit to Howard University last year where he discussed the war on drugs, we had hoped he might be an ally in keeping Congress out of D.C.’s local affairs. Even after he killed the D.C. budget autonomy bill in the Senate last Congress, we hoped he would try to bring his position on D.C. issues into greater line with his signature philosophy against federal interference with local affairs. Even now, we hope that he will do so by withdrawing this amendment.”

In 2012, Paul attempted to give D.C. residents the ability to carry concealed weapons in an amendment to a budget autonomy bill, which died a short time later. He explained why he offered the amendment in 2013: “I’m of two minds. Do I think maybe D.C. could have more autonomy? Maybe. But I also know that the Constitution puts D.C. under Congress’ purview, and that we give D.C. money from the rest of the country, from the tax receipts. So I think that oversight on the money that we spend, it is incumbent, it’s a responsibility of the Constitution, that we have oversight of the money that we spend from the U.S. Treasury in D.C.”