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Our Constitution's framers affirmed our right to bear arms through the Second Amendment for an important reason; to provide Americans with means of protection and self-defense. They made this very clear when they wrote “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.”
Unfortunately, the Biden Administration has chosen to disregard this principle on which our nation was founded by attempting to impose some of the strictest gun laws in American history.
As the Representative for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District and a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, I am proud to defend Iowans’ right to bear arms by voting against measures that seek to restrict or ban firearms in the United States.
On January 31, 2023, Biden’s unelected bureaucrats at the ATF published their final rule 2021R08F, “Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached Stabilizing Braces.”
This rule would have retroactively turned millions of law-abiding gun owners – including many disabled veterans – into criminals for simply attaching a stabilizing brace to their pistol to help shoot safely and accurately.
Lawful gun owners could have faced up to 10 years in federal prison, become felons, and received a $250,000 fine for having a stabilizing brace on their lawfully-purchased firearm.
I cosponsored legislation that passed the House to protect millions of gun owners by nullifying this blatantly unconstitutional pistol brace ban rule.
When Democrats tried sneaking a “red flag” provision into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have allowed military judges to issue gun confiscation orders without the servicemember even being present in court to defend themselves, I was quick to push back against it and refused to vote in favor of the bill until that provision was removed.
Recently, I voted in the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee for H.R. 705 (the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act). This bill ensures no veteran loses their Second Amendment right because the VA appoints someone to help manage their VA benefits. H.R. 705 prohibits the VA from automatically sending these veterans’ names and information to the FBI simply because they have a VA-appointed fiduciary. Our veterans deserve the same due process as any other American.
While President Biden penalizes law-abiding American citizens, he lets illegal, criminal aliens run amok across our nation. More than 9.5 million illegal immigrants have crossed the border since Biden took office, and not a single one of them has had a background check.
If he were as focused on securing our border and prosecuting actual criminals as he is punishing law-abiding citizens, we would undoubtedly see a drop in violent crimes around the country.
In Congress, I will continue to defend Iowans and their Second Amendment rights against any encroachment from Biden bureaucrats in DC.
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