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THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 4, 2021, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs) is recognized until 10 p.m. as the designee of the minority leader.
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.''
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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.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Hice).
Mr. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Arizona for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, we are all concerned with this bill, H.R. 8. And the reality is, the big money donors and powerful special interest groups behind the Democratic Party for a long time have sought to undermine, restrict, and even eliminate the Second Amendment rights of Americans.
With the Democratic Party now calling the shots here in Washington, quite frankly, the majority party is not even trying to hide their true agenda.
Masquerading as supposedly good-faith proposals to end gun violence, what they are really putting in place are the stepping-stones to creating a national firearm registry and eventually even confiscating firearms.
H.R. 8 is being considered later this week, and it would implement a universal background check system. The majority claims that this is an obvious solution to gun violence, but that is simply not the case at all.
Gun violence in America is complex, and so are the solutions. But the overwhelming majority of criminals would not be stopped by H.R. 8 whatsoever. In fact, the Justice Department itself, by its own data, says that 75 percent of criminals in prison who possessed a firearm obtained it through theft, the black market, or family and friends.
Secondly, we know that the vast majority of mass shooters would have been able to pass background checks. This bill does not in any way end gun violence.
But what it does do is create a national gun registry that will eventually be used against law-abiding Americans.
Without a permanent database of who owns a firearm, the Federal Government would not be able to determine whether a private firearm transfer took place with the required background check.
So that brings to us the real aim of this bill, H.R. 8. It paves the way for this database to be used at a later date in a national gun confiscation program.
Mr. Speaker, don't take my word for it.
Even President Biden, himself, in August 2019, said that he does support confiscating assault weapons which he would consider AR-15 style.
So, Mr. Speaker, the threat is real. We are in a major fight for those who are trying to dismantle and eliminate the Second Amendment. We are not blowing smoke here. H.R. 8 is a massive move in that direction, and we stand here tonight to say: No, we are not going to allow that to happen on our watch.
We have to be vigilant, and we have to stand guard for our freedoms.
Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Arizona, for yielding to me.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Ohio (Mr. Davidson).
Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I thank this body for still continuing the tradition of this opportunity to speak and have our voices heard, even though we are in the minority.
We don't control the floor, we can't put our bills on the agenda to have a debate, and often we can't even get an amendment considered on the bills. The Rules Committee strips out anything that would materially change a bill. Sadly, that has been a bipartisan approach to governing in this body. That is not a functioning legislature when those kinds of things happen.
Why is that important?
Every Member needs to have their voice heard, and they should be heard on the bill. They should be heard when this body wants to change our constitutional protections fundamentally. The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. The majority doesn't seek to amend the Constitution, but they seek to nullify that constitutional guarantee with subterfuge.
They say that this is a background check bill. Well, every commercial firearm transaction today already requires a background check. It doesn't matter whether you do it at a gun store, at a gun show, or at any other forum, if you buy a firearm from a commercial seller of firearms, a Federal firearm license holder, you have to do a background check. You can't do it, Mr. Speaker.
Now, what does this do?
It basically says, Mr. Speaker, that if you want to even loan a gun to a family member to go on a hunting trip, then you have to get a background check. Someone would be criminalized for doing that. You can't have private transfers. Essentially, the government says you can't be trusted to sell a firearm to anybody. You have to go to a licensed agent of the Federal Government.
How do they guarantee that?
They guarantee that by creating a registry.
Why should we be concerned about that?
Well, that is the path toward seizing it. It doesn't guarantee that the Government will do it, but let me tell you about the Supreme Court and what is going on right now, Mr. Speaker.
Under the Fourth Amendment, there is a clause that has been interpreted by Court opinions to allow seizures for community care--
warrantless seizures of property. This goes with civil asset forfeiture and all kinds of abuses of warrantless surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. If we do not stand up and defend the Second Amendment today, it will be just as abused as the Fourth Amendment's guarantee of privacy is today.
We have to oppose this bill. The people of the United States of America are constitutionally guaranteed the right to keep and bear arms, and this body shall not infringe it, and it shall not be infringed without a constitutional amendment, and that is not what is on the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I urge everyone to oppose H.R. 8 and any such effort to deny the American citizens the protections our Constitution guarantees.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina
(Mr. Budd).
Mr. BUDD. Mr. Speaker, as a Federally licensed gun store owner, I have a unique perspective on our Second Amendment rights, and I actually happen to know how background checks actually work.
It seems that H.R. 8 is being sold as universal background checks, and it would impose harsh penalties, like six-figure fines and jail time, for the simple act of handing a firearm to another person even for temporary use, like instruction.
The exemptions under H.R. 8 are woefully inadequate to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
Let's say, Mr. Speaker, that you loan your firearm to a victim of domestic violence because their abuser is just getting ready to be released from jail, or if a suicidal friend asks you to take possession of their firearm, or if you loan your cousin a gun after a series of burglaries in their neighborhood. These new transfer penalties would turn law-abiding citizens into criminals.
We simply cannot sacrifice our rights by passing laws that will make our families less safe and laws that criminals will simply ignore. We must always protect and preserve our God-given Second Amendment rights.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his speech.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Shall not be infringed. Shall not be infringed. The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
James Madison, our fourth President, the primary architect of the Constitution and the first Congressman from Virginia's Fifth District, said: ``Americans have the right and advantage of being armed--unlike the citizens of other countries whose governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.''
Our right to arm and defend ourselves is a God-given right, and we are privileged to live in a country whose Founders had the wisdom and the strength to codify that right in the Constitution.
James Madison and our other Founders recognized that this was a fundamental right to protect our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and they had the foresight to include this right among those first 10 amendments listed in the Constitution which were intended to protect us from our government. It was James Madison who also said: ``The truth is that all men having power ought to be mistrusted.''
The Second Amendment is not about hunting--that is great. It is not, again, primarily about self-defense or protecting our family--that is essential. It is about being a check against tyranny and ensure we remain a free people.
There is a reason it was the second right listed in the Bill of Rights--second only to the First Amendment protections of our right to free speech, assembly, and worship. The Second Amendment is the guarantor or protector of all other rights. If our Second Amendment right is not safe, then no rights are safe, and with this Democrat majority in this Congress, this right is not safe.
In my last quote tonight from James Madison, he also said: ``I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.''
We are witnessing the gradual encroachment on our fundamental Second Amendment right today by this Democrat majority.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend from Texas (Mr. Cloud).
Mr. CLOUD. Mr. Speaker, what we are considering here today with H.R. 8 has been dubbed a universal background check bill, but in reality, it would criminalize--let me say that again--it would criminalize the private transfer of firearms.
As part of the march to strip Americans of their guaranteed Second Amendment right, this gun control bill would make it a crime to sell or transfer a firearm without first seeking permission from the almighty Government.
The dirty secret is that the proponents of gun control, Mr. Speaker, want you to think that this is the end of the road when, in fact, that is not true. In 2013 President Obama's Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice said that the effectiveness of universal background checks depends on requiring gun registration.
So what we are witnessing here today is the first step to requiring a nationwide gun registration in America.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution says: ``A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.''
In this Nation of ``We the People,'' we recognize that we as citizens are not subjects of our government and that our inalienable rights are not a grant from the government but a gift from God, and to that end the Second Amendment doesn't grant us a right, but rather those carefully crafted words acknowledge an already existing right: the right of the people to possess a firearm.
The Constitution does not say you may or may not be able to own a firearm, we will circle back with you, we will get back with you on that.
It doesn't. It guarantees the right.
This bill does nothing to make communities more safe. This is another overreaching attempt by leftist leaders drunk on unchecked power to control the lives of freedom-loving citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to oppose this legislation.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina
(Mr. Norman).
Mr. NORMAN. Mr. Speaker, the right of the people to keep and bear arms in the United States is a fundamental principle expressed in our Bill of Rights.
Let me be clear: I will never do anything to infringe upon this right clearly laid out in our Second Amendment, but this bill, H.R. 8, will do just that.
H.R. 8 is a sweeping piece of legislation that imposes burdens on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. It is plain and simple. This bill is another attempt by Democrats to limit the rights of the American people.
This legislation would make it a crime, subject to limited exceptions, to simply hand a firearm to another person. This bill could trigger penalties of up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
This bill would make it illegal to transfer a firearm to another person during a life-threatening emergency. That could be considered a crime punishable by a fine of monetary dollars.
Also, just so we are on the same page, universal background checks do not stop criminals from possessing firearms. As my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said: In the United States less than one percent of criminals who had possessed a firearm during their offense got firearms through legal channels--less than one percent. That means that these criminals obtained their firearms outside of the setting that would require a background check to begin with.
What makes you believe that this legislation would change that, Mr. Speaker?
Our solution should be focused on improving access to mental healthcare services, addressing the root causes of violence, and carrying out our existing laws through investments in our law enforcement and community programs--not walking all over law-abiding citizens for protecting their loved ones. We all swore to uphold the Constitution, and it should be our goal in this Congress to work against legislation like this that would clearly infringe on our Second Amendment rights of American citizens.
Mr. Speaker, I will be a resounding ``no'' when it is time to vote.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Greene).
Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to Democrat gun control bills far and wide.
I would like to tell you about a gun law in Georgia: In order to provide for the emergency management of the city, and further, in order to provide for and protect the safety, security and general welfare of the city and its inhabitants, every head of household residing in the city limits is required to maintain a firearm, together with ammunition.
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Mr. Speaker, that is Kennesaw, Georgia, where, over 6 years, there has only been one murder and a violent crime rate of 2 percent.
Would you like to know why? It is because every single criminal knows that if they are going to attack someone in Kennesaw, Georgia, they are going to go across a gun owner, and it is the law that every household and homeowner owns a gun and keeps one in their household.
You see, guns are not scary. The fact that we may not have guns is scary. Guns are a great form of protection. It is an equalizer to a criminal who could care less about all the gun laws that Democrats want to pass on Americans, infringing on their Second Amendment rights.
H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446 are just more gun control legislation violating Americans' great right to bear arms. I rise in opposition to both of these bills, and I hope that the Democrats will come to their senses and figure out that gun rights are American rights.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Colorado
(Mrs. Boebert).
Mrs. BOEBERT. Mr. Speaker, in 2019, as a private citizen, a mom, a small business owner, I was ticked off that a politician running for President of the United States wanted to strip away our enumerated constitutional rights. So with my Glock on my hip, I drove 3 hours to tell Robert Francis O'Rourke, also known as Beto, hell no, you are not taking our guns.
That message resonated with millions of Americans. But, sadly, the Democrat Party, isolated in their basements and gated mansions, still hasn't gotten the message. Those on the left who would steamroll the rights of law-abiding citizens are still at it.
My colleagues on the other side of the aisle seem to be totally oblivious to the message Americans sent in 2020. Nearly 8.5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the very first time in 2020. With the left defunding the police, and antifa rioting, looting, burning down businesses, people made the reasonable and rational decision to take self-protection seriously and arm themselves.
And the Democrat response? More regulations, more bureaucracy, more control, less freedom.
Mr. Speaker, I will say it again, and I will say it nice and loud so everyone can hear me. Those on the left are still tucked away safely in their gated mansions with their armed security, ignoring everyday Americans.
For me, this is a hell no. It is a hell no to government treading on our rights. It is a hell no to the regulation of our Second Amendment. It is a hell no to government trampling on our freedoms.
All these new gun laws will do is leave law-abiding citizens defenseless while criminals--wait for it--break the law.
So, I have a few questions for my colleagues on the left. I want to know, why do you trust the American people so little? Why do you look down on them as lesser than you? How detached are you to believe that someone else's rights should be subject to bureaucratic permission, to your permission? Why is it okay to provide armed security for yourself but take away the right of Americans to do so themselves?
Why do you feel the need to keep a registry of gun owners? Do you not trust the American people? Are you afraid of your neighbors? Do you despise their rights?
How much power over the American people will it take to satisfy these radicals on the left? Our rights don't come from politicians. They come from God Almighty. Stop pretending to be God. Do your job and protect the rights of the American people.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Montana (Mr. Rosendale).
Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the extreme gun control measures being pushed by the Democratic majority. Make no mistake, they are extreme and an assault on our freedoms.
The Second Amendment guarantees the right of every American to keep and bear arms. I am proud to be from the State with the highest rate of gun ownership in the Nation. In Montana, law-abiding gun owners use firearms every day and exercise their God-given liberties.
Mr. Speaker, the bills in the House this week serve only to punish responsible gun owners and take away the Second Amendment rights of Montanans.
H.R. 8 would not just require background checks for the sale of firearms but for changes of ownership and even the most temporary transfers of possession. Someone who simply hands a firearm to another person could be subject to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
This would include the rancher who lends his gun to a neighbor whose cattle are being harassed by coyotes or to the hunter who lends a rifle to a buddy who is going on a hunting trip. This is deeply troubling, as these scenarios are very common in Montana.
H.R. 1446 is just as bad. While it claims to close a gun-buying loophole, it would give the FBI discretion to delay firearm purchases or transfers indefinitely and could even put the burden on law-abiding citizens to prove that they are eligible to purchase a firearm.
The Framers of our Constitution did not intend for us to have to beg the government to be able to exercise our freedoms. In fact, they included the Second Amendment to make sure that we didn't have to.
``Shall not be infringed'' is extremely clear. Unfortunately, that is exactly the path that Democrats seem intent on pursuing.
I thank my colleagues who stand with me today, and I urge all of my colleagues who cherish our constitutional liberties to join me in opposing these bills and any other bill that would infringe on our Second Amendment rights.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Illinois
(Mrs. Miller).
Mrs. MILLER of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, Congressman Biggs, for this Special Order.
We swore an oath to defend the Constitution, which includes the Second Amendment. But now, Democrats are going back on that oath by proposing H.R. 8, saying that we should enforce universal background checks on guns.
Continuing to put forth far-reaching laws on guns will only significantly increase the burden of the millions of law-abiding Americans who wish to exercise their Second Amendment right to self-
defense.
In my State of Illinois, Chicago has the fourth-strictest gun laws in the country, but criminal misuse of firearms in Chicago remains at the top of the list. This is because, if there is one thing that we know about criminals, it is that they don't care about obeying the law.
The Second Amendment was written to prevent the government from seizing arms. H.R. 8 is an attack on our rights and is one step closer to doing exactly what our Founders were guarding against.
We do not need to punish law-abiding citizens. Instead, we should do all we can to cherish and protect this right that we are so blessed to have.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, it is now my privilege to yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Clyde).
Mr. CLYDE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in defense of the Second Amendment and in opposition to H.R. 8, the universal background checks act.
Federal law already restricts transferring firearms to prohibited individuals. Instead of working to strengthen the enforcement of laws currently on the books, this legislation will criminalize many activities that are common practice among law-abiding gun owners, while failing to prevent guns from getting into the hands of criminals.
Criminals do not follow the law when obtaining their firearms, and nothing in the bill would prevent them from continuing to obtain firearms through avenues like the black market, theft, or illegal straw purchases.
Federal law already strictly prohibits the possession, receipt, or purchase of firearms by prohibited individuals, including convicted felons, fugitives from justice, unlawful users of controlled substances, illegal aliens, and individuals subject to protective orders or convicted of a crime of domestic violence.
Meanwhile, law-abiding citizens could face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine for common practices such as trades, private sales, gifts, or temporary loans of firearms if this bill becomes law.
Lastly, I will note that under the rules of interpretation in H.R. 8, it says: ``Rules of interpretation. Nothing in this act, or any amendment made by this act, shall be construed to: authorize the establishment, directly or indirectly, of a national firearms registry.''
That is false. This bill will create a national registry. That is because every firearms transfer has to go through a Federal firearms licensee's acquisition and disposition logbook. And every time a Federal firearms license is not renewed, those records must be sent to the ATF for storage, which, in turn, scans those records into a database for a future use. That is, in effect, a national firearms registry in the making.
If the rules of interpretation of H.R. 8 are correctly followed, then one could logically argue that this bill actually prohibits itself by, in its own words, prohibiting, directly or indirectly, a national firearms registry.
Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
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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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 44
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