Protecting Gun Rights

 

The Bill of Rights was intended to protect our fundamental freedoms from encroachment by a corrupt or tyrannical government. Never could our founders have imagined more than 200 years later that the right they listed second among the Bill of Rights—the right to bear arms—would be eroded or attacked.

The Second Amendment which clearly states, “a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” It is one of our nation’s most fundamental and vital protections. There is no clause restricting or qualifying this right, or limiting it to target practice and hunting. The right to defend one’s self and one’s family applies to every American.

Congressman Lamborn recently led a congressional effort to oppose regulations proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These would have expanded prohibitive and unnecessary protections provided to employees engaged in the manufacture, storage, sale, transportation, handling, and use of explosives, including small arms ammunition. As a result of these efforts, OSHA decided against a one size fits all approach harmful to the gun industry.

He is continuing the fight against liberal interpretations of the Constitution by judges and lawmakers that infringe upon our gun rights. He opposes gun owner databases, restrictions on weapons based on appearance, and discrimination against handguns.

 

National Rifle Association Congressional Scorecard

Congressman Lamborn has recieved an A rating for his voting record in support of Second Amendment rights in 2008 and 2010.

 

Second Amendment Sponsorships (112th Congress)

H.R. 677 D.C. v. Heller Resolution

The resolution calls on Congress to recognize June 26, 2012 as the fourth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court case of District of Columbia v. Heller. The Supreme Court ruled in that case that a decades-old law banning individuals from owning handguns in Washington, D.C. was unconstitutional. It was the first modern Supreme Court decision to find a law violated the fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms. At its core, the D.C. v. Heller found the Second Amendment is an individual right tied to the natural rights of self-defense.

 

Second Amendment CoSponsorships (112th Congress)

HR 58 Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act

Removes several antiquated and unnecessary restrictions imposed on interstate firearms business since 1968. These restrictions originated with the Gun Control Act of 1968, which only allowed licensed dealers to sell rifles and shotguns to residents of a different state under a lengthy series of conditions. These restrictions were supposed to prevent buyers from evading the few "background checks" available at the time, which were mostly carried out via state laws requiring local police chiefs to issue firearms permits. H.R. 58 does not override the laws of any state.

 

HR 420 Veteran’s Heritage Firearms Act of 2011

This bill would provide a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members could register firearms acquired overseas before Oct. 31, 1968, without fear of prosecution. Congress granted a limited amnesty in 1968, but most veterans did not receive enough notice to participate. The bill would not apply to all firearms brought home by veterans. The only firearms that normally have to be registered at the federal level are those subject to the National Firearms Act (NFA).

 

HR 645 Second Amendment Enforcement Act

This bill will eliminate harsh gun control laws imposed by the District of Columbia after the Supreme Court`s decision in D.C. v. Heller (2008). The bill will move the city`s gun laws away from their European model and closer to the mainstream laws in place in most of America. For example, it will abolish the city`s intentionally difficult and costly firearm registration requirement, its restrictions on carrying a gun for protection on private property, its post-Heller ban on hundreds of types of semi-automatic firearms denigrated as "assault weapons," its ban on standard defensive magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and its California-style "microstamping" law and handgun "roster" system.

 

HR 822 National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011

This bill would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes. A state's laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders. The bill applies to D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. territories. It would not create a federal licensing system; rather, it would require the states to recognize each others' carry permits, just as they recognize drivers' licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards. Rep. Stearns has introduced such legislation since 1995.

 

HR 2900 S.A.F.E. Act of 2011

This bill will amend the federal criminal code to provide for reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms in different states by persons who are not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm and who are: (1) carrying a valid state license or permit for carrying a concealed firearm, or (2) otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in their state of residence.

 

HR 3065 Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act

This bill will amend the Pittman-Robertson Act, a 70-year-old federal law that uses federal excise taxes on firearms and ammunition to fund wildlife conservation programs and the construction of shooting ranges. The bill's improvements to the Pittman-Robertson Act will allow the states far greater ability to purchase land, build new target ranges, and improve the ranges that currently exist. The bill will also provide new authority for states to use Pittman-Robertson funds to acquire lands to use for target range development, and would give the states up to five years to use Pittman-Robertson funds for range projects and land acquisition.