United States Senator Lisa Murkowski

In 2006, the UN General Assembly asked countries to submit their views on a multilateral Arms Trade Treaty. The Obama Administration announced its support for such a treaty in 2009.

Senator Murkowski is extremely concerned that the proposed UN Arms Trade Treaty could interfere with our Second Amendment rights.  She will oppose ratification of any treaty that in any way restricts the rights of law-abiding U.S. citizens to manufacture, assemble, possess, transfer or purchase firearms, ammunition, or related items.

After a month of negotiations at the UN Conference in New York, no decision on the proposed Arms Trade Treaty was made. However, the possibility of bringing the proposed Treaty to the UN General Assembly remains, and Senator Murkowski will continue to follow the negotiation process to ensure that the United States’ sovereignty and the rights of American citizens are not infringed upon.     

In 2008, the Supreme Court recognized for the first time what firearm activists like Sen. Murkowski have long argued - that the Second Amendment clearly protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. The case was brought by Dick Heller, a security guard in Washington, D.C., who challenged the District's onerous firearm ban preventing the possession of a firearm within one’s home. Prior to the ruling of the Court, the District of Columbia had imposed regulations originating from the Firearms Control Regulations Act of 1975 that required all firearms including rifles and shotguns be kept unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock. Sen. Murkowski joined a bipartisan group of 55 Senators that filed a friend-of-the-court brief supportive of Mr. Heller. The Heller decision, however, was also very limited in scope. The Court’s ruling that the Second Amendment protected a citizen’s right to keep and bear arms within his or her home only applied to federal enclaves, like the District of Columbia, and did not apply to states. The Supreme Court would address the question of the applicability of the Second Amendment to the states in a subsequent ruling. On April 27, 2010, Sen. Murkowski co-sponsored a bill introduced by Sens. McCain and Tester (S. 3265) that would seek to clarify many of the Second Amendment questions left unanswered by the Heller ruling. The bill is currently awaiting action by the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

In McDonald v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court was asked to determine the constitutionality of an individual’s right to keep and bear arms as it applies to the states. Prior to the ruling, Sen. Murkowski joined a group of 58 Senators to sign a friend-of-the-court brief asking the Court to rule that the Second Amendment does apply to the states. On June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment, in conjunction with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, applies to the states and individuals. The Court’s ruling also re-affirmed certain firearm restrictions mentioned in the Heller ruling, specifically those “prohibiting the possession of firearms by felons or mentally ill” as well as “laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms” are permissible.

The FBI administers the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is a point-of-sale system utilized in the determination of an individual’s eligibility to purchase a firearm in the United States. NICS is used to determine if a buyer is prohibited from purchasing a firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968, based on data that is obtained from various federal and state agencies. While numerous criteria are used in determining an individual’s eligibility to purchase a firearm, one of them is whether an individual is deemed “mentally defective”. Currently, if the Department of Veterans Affairs appoints a fiduciary to assist a veteran with his or her financial affairs, they are classified as ‘mentally defective’. No medical examination is completed prior to this determination. The veteran’s name is submitted to the FBI and added to the NICS list.

Sen. Murkowski joined Sen. Richard Burr and 18 other senators to introduce S. 669, which would end this unfair designation by the VA. On June 16, 2009, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed S. 669. It failed to pass the Senate in the last Congress, and Sen. Murkowski expects it to be reintroduced in the 112th Congress. The bill would protect Veterans from being unfairly adjudicated as being ‘mentally defective’ without the determination by a judicial authority that the person presents a danger to themselves or others. Those veterans who are deemed not to be a threat would retain their right to own and possess firearms.

Firearms have long been allowed on almost all Federal land in Alaska. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management have long deferred to state firearm laws. In Alaska, this meant firearms were allowed. In the National Parks and Wildlife Refuges in the lower 48 and a few parks in Alaska, however, firearms were banned. The disparity in rules was confusing and unfair, and Sen. Murkowski helped change them.

In 2007, Sen. Murkowski joined 50 other Senators in asking the Secretary of Interior to make the rules more consistent. In response, the Secretary proposed new rules to allow concealed carry in accordance with state law. Sen. Murkowski filed public comments supporting the rule. Unfortunately, implementation was stalled by a lawsuit.

As a result, Sen. Murkowski worked to enact the change legislatively. In the 110th Congress she cosponsored S. 2619, which would have required the Department of Interior to follow only state laws. That same year Sen. Murkowski voted for a similar amendment, which passed the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Unfortunately, neither measure was considered by the full Senate.

In 2009, Congress finally passed legislation to bring common sense to firearms regulations on federal lands. Sen. Murkowski cosponsored S. 816, The Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act. The legislation was ultimately passed as an amendment on May 29, 2009, by a vote of 67 to 29. The provision has now been signed into law by the President.

Today, all people who can legally possess firearms under applicable federal, state, and local laws can possess firearms in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges. Firearms are still banned in some buildings or secure areas. If you are planning a visit, please check firearm policies in the area you are visiting:

National Parks http://www.nps.gov/policy/Firearmsregs.pdf

Wildlife Refuges  http://www.fws.gov/policy/442fw1.html

Bureau of Land Management  http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/Recreation/recreation_national/Shooting_Sports_Hunting.html

National Forests

In 2009, Sen. Murkowski supported an amendment to permit Amtrak passengers to safely transport firearms and ammunition in their checked baggage, similar to airline travel. The amendment passed the Senate by a vote of 68 to 30 and has now been signed into law. Amtrak is now accepting reservations of firearms and ammunition for carriage on Amtrak trains that offer a checked baggage service. Commuter trains that do not offer a checked baggage service and Amtrak Bus Services are not affected by this policy change. Please check the Amtrak website for additional information regarding the transportation of firearms in checked baggage. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?c=Page&pagename=am%2FLayout&cid=1248542758975

Like many other gun owners, Sen. Murkowski is concerned about the current high cost and short supply of ammunition. This is a difficult situation, especially for Alaskans who count on hunting to put food on the table. The situation is made worse by the high cost of transportation in Alaska. Sen. Murkowski has cosponsored legislation that may help firearm and ammunition manufacturers increase production. Currently, manufacturers are required to pay their excise taxes every two weeks, while comparable industries pay every three months. To address this inequity, Sen. Murkowski cosponsored S. 632, the Firearm Fairness and Affordability Act, which would lower the costs associated with ammunition manufacturing, thereby increasing ammunition supplies. S. 632 was not passed during the 111th Congress, but Senator Murkowski expects that it will be re-introduced during the 112th Congress and she full intends to support this important piece of legislation.

Concealed-carry laws vary widely from state to state. Alaska has some of the least restrictive laws in the country. Permits are not required for concealed carry in Alaska, but you can still obtain a permit which will provide you with reciprocity in many other states. Some states refuse to recognize concealed-carry permits from other states. In 2009, Sen. Murkowski supported an amendment by Senator John Thune that would have required each state government to honor concealed-carry privileges granted by another state. Unfortunately, the amendment did not pass, despite a vote of 58 to 39 in favor of passage.

On September 13, 1994, Congress passed the ‘Public Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act’ though it is more commonly known as the Federal Assault Weapons Ban (AWB). The law prohibited the sale to civilians of certain semi-automatic firearms, which were labeled as ‘assault weapons’ or a weapon that could accept a ‘large capacity ammunition feeding device’. The Act did not cover weapons labeled as ‘assault rifles’ or those rifles that are capable of fully automatic fire, as they were already prohibited under the National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986.

The ban expired in 2004 and has not been renewed since. Sen. Murkowski was one of many Second Amendment supporters to oppose extending the ban in 2004, because the ban infringed on the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans, restricting the sale of numerous firearms that were used for legitimate recreational and safety purposes. Moreover, there is little reliable data available indicating that the ban had any positive effect on reducing gun violence.

Many Alaskans are concerned about a return to the assault weapons ban. Only Congress has the power to impose another ban. Sen. Murkowski is committed to opposing the assault weapons ban if it comes before the Senate again.

Firearm registration is an idea often discussed by those who aim to restrict Second Amendment rights. Sen. Murkowski opposes firearm registration due to the unnecessary and likely unconstitutional burden it would place on law-abiding Americans. Two bills have caused considerable alarm among firearm enthusiasts. Both bills are going nowhere, and Sen. Murkowski absolutely opposes them. Nonetheless, firearm enthusiasts should remain vigilant.

One bill Alaskans have expressed concerns about is S. 2099, the Handgun Safety and Registration Act of 2000. The legislation would have required registration of all handguns in the United States, and imposed a tax on handgun sales and handgun manufacture. The bill has not been reintroduced during Sen. Murkowski’s time in the Senate, and there is no known effort to enact this bill.

A similar bill, H.R. 45, was introduced in the House of Representatives in 2009. H.R. 45 would require all firearm owners to obtain a federal firearms license. It would also ban the sale or transfer of firearms between individuals without the license. This bill garnered no co-sponsors and expired at the end of the last Congress.

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.