Weekly Column: Protecting Idahoans' Second Amendment Rights

The Second Amendment of our Constitution reads: “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.”  I firmly believe this provision prohibits the federal government from denying citizens this right.  Burdening law-abiding citizens of this country with additional gun restrictions is not the answer to safeguarding the public. 

Those who want to strip away Second Amendment rights have sought every creative way possible to advance their agenda through legislation, regulation and litigation.  I have taken a number of actions in the 119th Congress to protect the Second Amendment.  These efforts so far include:   

• Leading reintroduction of the Hearing Protection Act, which would reclassify suppressors to regulate them like a regular firearm;

• Co-sponsoring the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, which would allow any person legally authorized to carry a concealed firearm in their home state to exercise that right in any other state that allows the practice;

• Co-sponsoring Senator Jim Risch’s (R-Idaho) Sporting Firearms Access Act, which would limit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives’ (ATF) ability to restrict firearm models from importation into the United States;

• Backing the Fair Access to Banking Act, which would prevent discrimination by banks and financial services providers against constitutionally-protected industries and law-abiding businesses, such as firearms manufacturers;

• Co-sponsoring the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act, which would remove “reputational risk” as a component of federal supervision, which has become a way to weaponize power against politically disfavored groups;

• Joining legislation to prohibit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service from banning the use of lead ammunition or tackle on public lands unless such action is supported by the best available science;

• Co-sponsoring Senator Risch’s No REGISTRY Act, which would require the ATF to delete all existing records of firearms transactions and allow federal firearms licensees to destroy firearm transaction records when they go out of business;

• Backing the ATF Transparency Act, which would require a transparent and speedy National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) process and create an appeals process for erroneous NICS denials;

• Co-sponsoring the FIND Act, which would prohibit companies with policies that discriminate against the firearm and ammunition industries from receiving federal contracts;

• Supporting the Traveler’s Gun Rights Act to allow military spouses and those without a fixed address (such as those who live full time in a recreational vehicle) to purchase handguns in the state where they are permanently stationed for duty or consistent with the P.O. Box listed on their driver’s license;

• Sending a letter to the ATF demanding it comply with President Trump’s Executive Order, Protecting Second Amendment Rights, in order to align the ATF’s rules and polities with the President’s strong support for the Second Amendment; and

• Signing a letter to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce highlighting concerns with the Department’s Interim Final Rule finalized under the previous Administration that restricted firearms exports to certain countries.

Over the years, the Second Amendment has brought much discussion, but it has remained part of our Constitution since it was ratified along with the first ten Amendments (the Bill of Rights) effective December 15, 1791.  In June 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled there is an individual right to keep and bear arms, as outlined in the Second Amendment.  We as Americans must protect and preserve our constitutional right to bear arms.  I will continue to oppose all efforts to weaken Second Amendment rights and work to protect them in the U.S. Senate. 

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