The Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed
Floor Speech
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Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arizona for his very informative speech here about our coming, looming economic issues.
Mr. Speaker, for the last 2 weeks, the majority has attacked the First Amendment; and now they are attacking the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment clearly states the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. And as Justice Scalia noted in his decision in Heller, the Second Amendment does not give Americans a right; it protects a preexisting right. Hence, the phrase, ``Shall not be infringed.''
Our theme for the next 30 minutes will be about H.R. 8 and the damage it will do to the Second Amendment which is, as Justice Scalia noted, a preexisting right.
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Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his speech.
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Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
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I thank the gentleman from Georgia. I thank all of my colleagues. I appreciate the opportunity to be with so many of my friends who support the Second Amendment and oppose H.R. 8.
I was talking earlier tonight about the Heller decision, where Justice Scalia said the Second Amendment is a preexisting right. Justice Scalia wrote: ``There seems to us no doubt, on the basis of both text and history, that the Second Amendment conferred an individual right to keep and bear arms.'' He did state ``the right was not unlimited,'' but the bill being considered goes well beyond acceptable limitations.
H.R. 8 is another bill that the majority is bringing to the floor this session without a hearing or markup in the Judiciary Committee.
Last Congress, the markup of H.R. 8 was cut short when the chairman of the committee introduced an amendment in the nature of a substitute right in the middle of the markup after Republicans repeatedly offered amendments highlighting flaws in the bill. He didn't allow Members opposed to the amendment to speak or offer amendments. He then called for the vote on the substitute amendment. This hurried process demonstrated that Democrats cared more about simply passing a bill than passing a good bill.
H.R. 8 would not have prevented recent shootings. In Parkland, the shooter acquired the firearm legally from an FFL after undergoing a NICS check.
In Sutherland Springs, Texas, the shooter made purchases from an FFL following a NICS check.
In Las Vegas, the shooter purchased his firearms from an FFL after a background check.
In Orlando, the shooter purchased his firearms legally from an FFL following a NICS check.
I can go on, but there are so many more examples that are just the same because criminals who seek to do harm will get guns, regardless of the new restrictions imposed by H.R. 8. That is just the nature of criminals.
I was a prosecutor and a criminal defense attorney. I can tell you, that is the way criminals are. They violate the law.
With very limited exceptions, H.R. 8 makes it illegal for Americans to get a gun if a nonlicensed importer, manufacturer, or dealer is involved. And how will the government know if an illegal transfer occurs?
Eventually, the government will have to create a registry of all firearms and firearm owners so that they can track all transfers. That is what they want to do here. Without a registry, this bill is utterly unenforceable.
I have heard supporters of this bill say that other countries have similar restrictions, so we need to do the same as well. But the reality is, there is no other country on the face of this planet that has a Second Amendment, where the Founders of that country said the right to bear arms and protect yourself against government and individuals is a God-given right and deserves to be protected. It is, as Justice Scalia said, a preexisting right.
Supporters say that this bill is about saving lives. If that is what is important, then I would encourage every supporter of this bill to join me in cosponsoring the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which actually will save lives. I urge Speaker Pelosi to bring that bill to the floor today.
I oppose this bill. I urge all of my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for being here tonight, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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