As our Constitution makes clear, American citizens have a right to keep and bear arms, plain and simple.  This is an individual right.  I have long opposed any encroachment upon the Second Amendment and will oppose any future attempt to erode the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Ultimately, our freedom depends on the limits to legislative action that are set out in the Bill of Rights. Those limits include efforts to restrict firearm ownership.  The fact is that restricting the ability of law-abiding citizens to own firearms for hunting and personal protection does nothing to prevent violent crime.  I will continue to resist efforts to write the Second Amendment out of the Constitution.