Posted: 4/25/2007 11:15:59 AM EDT
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I wrote my rep over a month ago concerning HR1022. Better late than never. "Thank you for contacting me regarding the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. I appreciate your deep concern about an issue so important to Idahoans and all Americans. I took my oath of office to serve as your Congressman in early January. By that oath I affirmed my commitment to uphold the Constitution of the United States. My oath was a solemn one, which means that your Second Amendment rights are a matter of great seriousness to me. While many have argued that the right to keep and bear arms applies collectively to military operations, such a limited reading is not what our Founding Fathers intended. The United States Court of Appeals recently recognized this in its March 9, 2007, decision of Parker v. District of Columbia where it held: "The [Second] Amendment does not protect 'the right of militiamen to keep and bear arms,' but rather 'the right of the people.' The [Second Amendment] protects the ownership and use of weaponry beyond that needed to preserve the state militias..therefore [the Second Amendment is] an expression of the drafters' view that the people possessed a natural right to keep and bear arms.." Currently there are several bills affecting gun rights in Congress that raise grave concerns. One such bill is H.R. 1022, a bill to reauthorize the ban on certain semi-automatic firearms. This bill was introduced by Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) in the 110th Congress, and was referred to the Judiciary Committee where it currently is pending. I am also concerned with gun related legislation that unnecessarily invades the privacy of Idahoans. Recently, Rep. McCarthy also introduced H.R 297, to amend the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1) to require federal agencies to provide, and the Attorney General to secure, any government records with information relevant to determining the eligibility of a person to receive a firearm for inclusion in NICS; (2) to require states to make available to the Attorney General certain records that would disqualify persons from acquiring a firearm; and (3) to authorize appropriations for grant programs to assist states, courts, and local governments in establishing or improving such automated record. In short, this legislation would authorize and mandate that the federal government maintain personal information on many Americans. While the safe and responsible ownership and use of a firearm is a must, maintaining and centralizing the personal information of millions of Americans in the hands of government bureaucrats is a threat to constitutionally guaranteed personal liberty. Should either of these bills or any similar legislation come before the House of Representatives, please be assured that I will vote to protect your Second Amendment Rights." Hr 297 is the one Chuckie S. was talking to O'Reilly about the other day. |