Second Amendment
As one of the founding principles of our nation, the right to bear arms must be fully upheld, and I am committed to protecting the rights of responsible Oklahoma gun owners who safely use guns for hunting and protection.
Our founders knew that true freedom from despotism required ordinary citizens to have the means to defend themselves from tyrannical advances. Of all the rights found in the U.S. Constitution, only one—the right to bear arms—is included to ensure that all other rights are upheld. Our founders knew that in order for our republic to respect the rights of our citizens, we could never leave them defenseless to despotism. Although our society has evolved, this right to bear arms remains, and I am a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA) because I believe that the Second Amendment should not be violated.
In Oklahoma, we know that guns are tools, to be used responsibly. Unfortunately, many politicians and bureaucrats in Washington are quick to blame guns for gun violence. But executive actions favored by President Obama that limit the rights of law-abiding gun owners are not the answer.
More on Second Amendment
Tulsa World - Randy Krehbiel
First District Congressman Jim Bridenstine said Tuesday he is cosponsoring legislation to block a portion of President Barack Obama’s gun initiative intended to include information about Social Security recipients prohibited from possessing firearms for mental health reasons in the background check system.
NewsOK Blog - Chris Casteel
Members of Oklahoma's congressional delegation on Tuesday blasted President Barack Obama's proposals to increase background checks for gun buyers by expanding those who would be defined as gun dealers under federal law.
Obama made a tearful pitch at the White House to take action to stop mass shootings, urging Congress to fund more federal agents to police gun sales and legislation to ensure mentally ill people can't purchase guns.
The Oklahoman - Chris Casteel
President Barack Obama, fighting back tears over lives lost in mass shootings, said Tuesday he will require more gun sellers to conduct background checks.
Obama's move to "clarify" current law on background checks is the centerpiece of the executive efforts he announced at the White House to reduce gun violence.
Without question, there are occurrences of violence that have made many Americans feel on edge and question their safety and security. Certainly, the attacks in Paris shocked the world by reminding us of the heinous crimes and violence of which terrorists are capable. And a few weeks later, Americans were rudely awakened by the tragic, ISIL-inspired shooting in San Bernardino, California that claimed 14 innocent lives.
News9 - Alex Cameron
One day after a mass shooting took the lives of 14 people in San Bernardino, CA, a gun-control measure intended to help keep suspected terrorists from getting access to guns is defeated in Washington, D.C.
The measure, offered by Sen. Diane Feinstein, (D) California, Thursday afternoon as an amendment to a health care bill, is an exact duplicate of a House bill that was referenced by President Obama in his reaction to this latest shooting.
Often when faced with heartbreaking circumstances or when tested by crisis, Americans come together to lend support and offer sympathy to their fellow Americans. That spirit of unity was recently demonstrated nationwide in the wake and aftermath of the deadly, racially-charged attack on church members at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Sometimes referred to as the guarantor of the rest of our constitutional rights, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution has rightly remained a fundamental freedom in American society. While we have come a long way as a nation and certainly look different today than our first years, it doesn’t erase or change the importance of “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.” For even the most fundamental freedoms must be looked after in order to preserve American liberty for future generations.
Bloomberg - Kathleen Hunter & Roxana Tiron
Movement on gun control and immigration in the U.S. Senate obscures an inevitable roadblock to either measure: a resistant Republican-run House.
Obstacles in the House of Representatives to expanding background checks for gun buyers may be enough to scuttle an initiative that President Barack Obama has pressed in the aftermath of the Newtown, Connecticut, school shootings.