Issue Position: Gun Rights

Issue Position

As a United States Representative, I took an oath of office to "support and defend" the Constitution--including the Second Amendment. I believe that the right to bear arms is one of our nation's most fundamental and vital protections. The Second Amendment rights of Americans are non-negotiable and are not open to infringement.

I am unwavering in my support for the right to keep and bear arms. There is no clause restricting or qualifying this right, or limiting it to merely target practice and hunting. The right to defend one's self and one's family applies to every American. Please know that I will continue to defend this fundamental constitutional right for you and your families.

Unfortunately, President Obama has used executive orders to restrict law abiding citizens' access to firearms. The unilateral actions taken by the president seek to undermine the rights afforded to all Americans in favor of his liberal agenda. Instead of developing a coherent strategy to keep the American people safe from attacks by criminals and terrorists, the actions proposed by President Obama will do little to make us safer and will only inhibit the efforts of Americans to exercise their Second Amendment rights.

I believe that we should vigorously enforce the more than 240 pages of existing federal gun regulations and work to strengthen our nation's mental health system to provide families and patients access to the care they need. But we must ensure that actions taken to reduce violence are targeted, address underlying causes, and do not infringe upon our Second Amendment rights.
Major Actions on Second Amendment Rights

* As an NDAA Conferee, I added provisions allowing for military members to carry firearms for personal protection on military bases.
* I sent letters to Appropriations Committee members to defund the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and to prevent the use of the ATT for domestic prosecutions. In addition to these Second Amendment concerns, the ATT also poses threats to our domestic defense manufacturing base and our ability to defend our allies such as Taiwan and the State of Israel.
* I fought the Obama Administration's attempt to ban .223 M855 "green tip" ammunition.
* H.R. 2406 the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act

I supported this compilation of several bills that expand access to, and opportunities for, hunting, fishing, and recreational shooting. For more information on the SHARE Act, read the original press release.

* H.R. 578, the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act.

Currently, legislation passed into law allows individuals to possess an assembled or functional firearm in any unit of the National Park Service or National Wildlife Refuge System, but not on any Army Corps of Engineers' land. H.R. 578 would prohibit the Secretary of the Army from enforcing any regulation that keeps an individual from possessing firearms on Army Corps Water Resource Development project if the individual is not otherwise prohibited by law from possessing the firearm or if the possession of the firearm is in compliance with the law of the state in which the project is located.

* H.R. 1413, the Firearm Manufacturers and Dealers Protection Act of 2015.
Under Operation Choke Point, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and Department of Justice permitted Attorney General Eric Holder the means to cripple firearms and ammunition manufacturers by placing immense regulatory pressure on the financial institutions they do business with. H.R. 1413 would entirely defund any activities associated with Operation Choke Point and forbid the U.S. Attorney General from restarting a similar program.

* H.R. 766, the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act
This bill prohibits federal financial regulators from using subpoena powers to intimidate local banks from working with gun businesses.

Sponsored and Cosponsored Legislation

H.R. 4319 - Second Amendment Defense Act of 2016

H.R. 4321 - Separation of Powers Restoration and Second Amendment Protection Act

H.R. 2710 - Lawful Purpose and Self Defense Act

H.R. 2753 - Fairness in Firearm Testing Act

H.R. 2611 - Collectible Firearms Protection Act

H.R. 1739 - FIREARM Act

H.R. 3802 - Alternative Ammunition Manufacturing Act

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