D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson issued a statement Thursday night slamming the Paul amendment, calling it “an effort to politicize a human tragedy” in the week of mass shootings in Colorado and California.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., urged senators to vote against the amendment, noting the District should be allowed to dictate its own policies. “”I’m shocked that a libertarian would stand up here and offer this,” Boxer said of Paul.