House Votes to End Handgun Ban in D.C.

This annoys me on many different levels. First, as a parent, I'm annoyed that Congress proposes making handguns (and semi-automatic weapons!) more available in my city. Second, as a DC resident, I'm annoyed that Congress still has the right to overturn local laws in DC and we don't even have voting representation. Lastly, as somebody who would like to see Congress actually doing meaningful work, I'm annoyed that the leadership in the House is putting effort into something they know won't pass in the Senate. As written in the article from the NY Times¹:

With the November elections approaching, Republican leaders in the House have scheduled a series of votes on hot-button social issues that they hope will force Democrats into a difficult position at the polls, particularly in areas where support for gun rights is strong. On Thursday, lawmakers are expected to take up a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage; last week, they passed a bill that would prohibit the federal courts from hearing challenges to the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

¹Registration required, or borrow one from BugMeNot or see the article from Yahoo which doesn't require registration.