Looking Forward to Visiting DC?

Last week the US House of Representatives - led by its Republican leadership - voted to erase the 28-year handgun ban in Washington DC. Why would the House do such a thing in such a high-crime area? The citizens and city government overwhelmingly opposed the lifting of the ban.

Primarily - this is as good an illustration of how ideologically bound the House leadership - under Tom DeLay - has become. It is more important to the pro-gun interests to beat back gun restrictions than to seek pragmatic solutions to real problems. It doesn't matter to them that polls indicate the citizens of DC overwhelmingly oppose lifting the ban. Damn the citizens! We have a point to make!

This is also a clear illustration of how money politics works. The NRA and the gun industry have purchased most Congresspeople with campaign contributions and fear.