Today the House of Representatives will address a bill that would replace the District's established gun registration laws with rules mandated by the House.

The new regulations before Congress would make it easier to buy and own guns in D.C. They would throw out the gun registration requirements established by city lawmakers, allow D.C. residents to buy guns in Virginia and Maryland and lift the ban on semi-automatic weapons and the requirement for guns in the home to be unloaded and either disassembled or fitted with trigger locks.

The measure will likely pass with strong support in the House, where many representatives have heavily pro-gun constituencies and are up for re-election.

Today city law enforcement officials, including Metro Police Chief Cathy Lanier (web|news|bio), will have their say, and Congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes-Norton will suggest an alternative law that would simply require the District to conform to the Supreme Court's standard.

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