Congressman Burton is reconized for his stance, even when he is standing alone.  Mary Beth Sheridan from the Washington Post observes Dan's urge for 2nd Amendment rights in Washington, D.C.

A House committee approved a bill yesterday that would allow D.C. officials to write their own gun laws, as D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton and others tried to forestall more drastic congressional intervention.

Norton's legislation would allow D.C. officials to rewrite their gun laws within 180 days to comply with the court ruling. It is aimed at stopping the more sweeping bill sponsored by Rep. Travis W. Childers (D-Miss.) that would bar the D.C. government from passing laws that "discourage or eliminate" the use of firearms.

Childers's legislation focuses on four areas. It would repeal the D.C. ban on semiautomatic pistols and rifles; eliminate the city's gun registration requirements; allow D.C. residents to purchase firearms in Virginia and Maryland; and abolish the regulation that guns at home be unloaded and safeguarded.

Norton's legislation cleared the committee yesterday with the support of 18 Democrats and three Republicans, including Davis. The lone no vote was cast by Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.), who favors the tougher measure. Nineteen committee members were absent or cast no vote.