2nd Amendment Rights

The Challenge

In the aftermath of recent tragedies that have occurred across our country, we struggle to find the answers to adequately address violence in America. The temptation is to do something, anything, to prevent such evils from ever happening again. That is a natural response. Unfortunately, powerful emotions and kneejerk political reactions do not typically make for smart policymaking.

President Obama’s executive actions to curb violence were hasty decisions that would not have prevented these atrocities from happening, will not prevent criminals from obtaining firearms to carry out future attacks, and will punish responsible gun owners in the process.

The attackers in Newtown and San Bernardino used weapons purchased by someone else, shielding them from background checks. In other cases—such as the tragedy in Charleston—attackers, who should have not been able to legally purchase firearms, were able to because of system errors or delays.

One thing is clear: we must take responsible steps to keep firearms out of the hands of mentally disturbed individuals and criminals attempting to circumvent the federal background check process. When taking action to keep Americans safe, however, we must also ensure that we are not creating unintended consequences for the law-abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their right to bear arms. Millions of law-abiding, gun-owning American citizens go to sleep each night without harming others, their families, or themselves.

Current Law

Under current Federal law, an individual who is engaged in the business as a firearms dealer is required to have a Federal firearms license. A dealer is any person who deals in firearms as a regular course of trade or business with the principal objective of livelihood and profit through the repetitive purchases and reselling of firearms.

However, an individual who make occasional sales, exchanges or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms, is not considered a dealer, and is thus except from licensing requirements.

The President’s widely publicized proposals simply restate the licensing and reporting laws that are already on the books. In essence, President Obama’s proposals are nothing more than a politicized publicity stunt, used in an attempt to intimidate law-abiding gun owners and advance his own political satisfaction.

Moving Forward

Americans are citizens, not subjects. Our government derives its power from the consent of the people. Our liberties, including the right to bear arms, pre-exist the founding of our government, and the people did not give up their individual rights when they consented to its creation. Nor are there any provisions in our founding documents to deprive the people as a whole of these freedoms when certain individuals abuse theirs.

The President continually speaks about working together with Congress, yet time and again he uses executive action to circumvent Congress and ignores the will of the people. I suggest the President enforce the laws that are already on the books and work with Congress to enact meaningful solutions that will– without infringing on due process or privacy protections– keep firearms out of the hands of criminals and the mentally disturbed.

My colleagues and I in the House will conduct vigilant oversight on this issue and I will continue to support legislation that defends the Second Amendment and improves the enforcement of current law.