Barletta Statement on Obama Executive Actions Subverting 2nd Amendment

Press Release

Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today issued the following statement in response to President Obama's executive actions on firearms, which circumvent Congress and undermine the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

"Once again, the president finds himself unable to guide his unpopular policies through Congress -- as the Constitution requires -- and so he circumvents the legislature by using executive fiat to achieve his political goals. The president could have rammed these changes through when his party controlled both chambers of Congress for two years, but instead he has waited to issue these edicts in order to achieve the most division possible among Americans.

"I am a firm believer in the 2nd Amendment and I cannot support the further erosion of these guaranteed rights for law-abiding citizens. I also will never support anything that resembles a national gun registry. To rule by executive order and undermine the rights of law-abiding gun owners is contrary to our founding principles.

"We can all agree that those with histories of dangerous mental health problems should not have access to firearms, and we should all support laws that keep guns out of the hands of criminals, drug traffickers, gang members, and terrorists. The changes the president has ordered, however, would have prevented exactly none of the incidents he has cited as the basis for tightening gun laws. I only wish the president had the same enthusiasm for background checks on potential terrorists and illegal immigrants as he does for law-abiding citizens."

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