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WASHINGTON - Republicans who used gun rights to derail a plan to give the District of Columbia its first full-voting House member and a fourth congressional seat for Utah won't be able to repeat their tactic today when the bill returns to the floor.
Democrats plan to bring up the measure this afternoon but have structured the debate so that GOP members wouldn't be able to block a vote.
Several Republicans in late March tried to attach language that would have eliminated the district's long-standing handgun ban. Democrats, fearing many of their pro-gun rights members would side with the GOP, pulled the measure from consideration.
The legislation, mainly designed to give the nearly 600,000 residents of the district representation in Congress, will be brought up separately from a provision to pay for the new Utah seat, a move aimed at keeping Republicans from hindering passage with parliamentary procedures.
A spokeswoman for Rep. LaMar Smith, R-Texas, who pushed the handgun ban removal says the GOP won't be able to try the same move again because the Democrats are putting procedural roadblocks in the way of such an attempt.
"That is not going to be germane, so right now we're still weighing our options," said Beth McGinn, a spokeswoman for Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee.
Attempting to get rid of the district's handgun ban also may be a prickly proposition only days after a Virginia Tech student shot and killed 32 people with two handguns.
DC Vote, the main advocacy group pushing the legislation, predicts that barring another unforeseen Republican move, the D.C.-Utah bill will pass with some 20 Republicans voting for it.
"We have a very good chance of getting a majority vote for the bill tomorrow and we believe we'll get a sizable number of Republicans," says executive director Ilir Zherka.
Even if that happens, the bill still faces hurdles. Many senators fear it could lead to the district pressing for a Senate seat as well. And several members have expressed concerns about the bill's constitutionality.
White House advisers have also said they could counsel President Bush to veto the bill should it pass Congress.
Republicans will attempt another approach today that is not expected to get much support: giving back most of the District of Columbia to Maryland, making residents there part of that state. The Capitol, National Mall, White House and other federal buildings would remain part of the district but the first family would be the only residents.
Utah, a Republican haven, was added to the D.C.-Utah bill to balance what is expected to be a Democrat elected in the District of Columbia. Utah barely missed out on getting a fourth seat after the 2000 Census.