DonYoung

Second Amendment

I believe the Second Amendment is a critical part of our Constitution and our nation’s history, which must be protected.  As a board member of the National Rifle Association, I oppose the assault weapon ban and federal registration of guns.  Recently the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) proposed a rule which would require law-abiding gun distributers to submit a record of sales to the federal government if an individual buys two or more semi-automatic rifles within five days.  This is precisely the type of anti-gun legislation I remain committed to opposing.    

For this reason, I led a bipartisan group of my colleagues in sending President Obama a letter stating our opposition to any attempts to reinstate an assault weapon ban and urging him to pursue other methods of fighting violent crime and the War on Drugs, and leave the assault weapon ban in the past where it belongs.  Quite simply, the assault weapon ban does not reduce crime and is a clear violation of our Second Amendment Rights.

In the 112^th Congress, I remain dedicated to the defense of our constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.  I am a cosponsor of H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011.  This legislation allows any person with a valid concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms. 

The importance of the Second Amendment cannot be overstated.  We must be constantly vigilant against ever-increasing federal control in our daily lives.  Whether that control comes through a weapons ban, forced registration of weapons or regulations, or taxes designed to make it impossible to purchase ammunition, I will continue to do everything I can to oppose them and stand up for our rights as Americans.  Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “Laws which forbid the carrying of arms disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.”