Gun Control issues

Gun Control issues

Gun Control issues

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
''Fight to Protect the 2nd Amendment
Pulled from House of Reps

Against H.R. 45.''
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPPOSING THE BLAIR HOLT'S

FIREARM LICENSING AND

RECORD OF SALE ACT
HON. DENNY REHBERG

OF MONTANA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Mr. REHBERG. Madam Speaker, a few

weeks ago, I stood on the floor of the House

of Representatives to express the outrage I'm

hearing from Montanans regarding H.R. 45

and similar bills that erode our Second

Amendment rights and make eventual confiscation

of firearms easier. Even gun-control advocates

understand that this bill goes too far.

They promise that H.R. 45 will never pass.

Notice, they don't say it shouldn't pass-

only that it won't.

Some of my colleagues here in Washington,

D.C. wish it could pass. And that's why it remains

so important to stand our ground

against The Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and

Record of Sale Act and similar measures.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, ''The price of freedom

is eternal vigilance.'' While public outcry

has made H.R. 45 a politically unattractive

proposal for now, make no mistake about it: if

we ease back, even for a moment, opponents

of the Second Amendment will take advantage.

I recently created a user-group on the popular

social networking website Facebook entitled

''Fight to Protect the 2nd Amendment

Against H.R. 45.'' It has been incredible to

watch the response as friends have invited

friends to join and people posted their opinions

on ''The Wall'' for others to read. In a little

over two weeks, the group has more than

1,500 members, with more joining every day.

Sadly a bill like H.R. 45 isn't politically unattractive

because it's a bad idea. Congress

passes bad ideas every day. It's politically unattractive

because Americans like those in my

Facebook group are taking Thomas Jefferson's

advice and remaining vigilant. It's politically

unattractive because of the grassroots

advocacy that has arisen against it.

To make it clear that advocates of liberty

will pay the price of vigilance for our freedom,

here is a sampling of some of the comments

that were written on the wall in that angry little

corner of Facebook.

''The ability to bear arms has much more

to do with being able to protect one's self

then it does for those hunting. I used a 22

rifle once to keep an invader out of my

apartment. I didn't have any ammo but all

the guy needed to see was my gun pointing

at him when he broke into my front door, he

promptly left and I was one less victim of

who knows what crime. Don't take that

right to defend myself away from me. I don't

want to be a statistic!''-Jaclyn Colebank

''As once was written, 'If guns kill people

then pencils misspell words.' As an avid gun

owner and 25 year old female I appreciate the

constitution and the rights we have been

given. The second amendment assists us in

protecting the first. If someone decides to

break into my home and deprive me of my

life, liberty and/or happiness, I am going to

protect those rights using a firearm if necessary.''-

Amanda Barta

''I use to never want to have a gun in my

home. They always scared me. My husband is

a trucker and over a year I am pretty much

alone with just my son in the home. I am

disabled so I can't really get away from

someone if they were to break in. A couple of

guys threatened my son and myself. Immediately

I told my husband that soon as he

came home we were going to get me a gun

and he was going to teach me to shoot. I

need to know how to protect my family and

myself. I also realize that an unarmed society

is nothing but slaves to the government.

The Founding Fathers knew that the people

needed a way to protect themselves from a

government gone wild which is why they

made sure we have the 2nd amendment. I am

now a member of the NRA and I will not be

disarmed. Statistics prove that areas that

have gun bans have a much higher crime

rate. I am a rape survivor and had I carried

a gun then maybe I would not have been a

victim. Never again.''-Anita Calbert

''If I'm a violent criminal all set to ply my

trade, I'd rather operate in an unarmed helpless

community than your basic Montana

town. What is it about an armed populace

that is so frightening?''-Randy Nankivel

''The second amendment states, ''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.''

While H.R 45 does not outright ban

guns, it would impair the purchase and ownership

of arms to the point to where it would

have the same effect as a ban, and as such

H.R. 45 should be considered unconstitutional.

Opponents will claim as long as there

is the opportunity to buy a gun, however

small, the second amendment would not be

violated. This is an abuse of the definition

and meaning of the second amendment, unfairly

restricting the scope of amendment

and marginalizing it until rendered ineffective.''-

Eric Fulton

''Being a gun owner is not only a privilege

but my right. Anyone who wants to take our

gun rights has forgotten how the birth of our

great country came about. I enjoy target

shooting as well as hunting. It is something

my husband and I do to spend time together.

If we let Congress pass any bill allowing

them to take our guns, it would be detrimental

to the well being of every American.

The criminals will have them anyway and

the hard working citizens will have no way

to protect themselves, not to mention being

able to hunt. Hunting is a way of life for a

lot of families, especially families who cannot

afford to buy beef etc. I see absolutely

nothing positive being gained by taking our

gun rights.''-Tara Preshinger

''Guns have been a part of my life and my

family's life since we have lived in the US. It

has been a useful tool in feeding my family

since we have been here. I am a soldier,

hunter, brother, son and many other things

and I refuse to let this right be taken from

me when all that will happen is it will take

firearms from people who use them as tools

and a way of life and those who use them for

bad will get them one way or another. If

guns are outlawed only outlaws will have

guns and we will have nothing to protect

ourselves with. That's way I say this right is

important to me. I am here to protect my

family, friends, and the US from all enemies

and I feel sorry for the poor sap that tries to

take this right away from me.''-Clint Dean

''As a U.S. Soldier and a Montanan guns

have always been a part of my life. I will

never give up the right to keep and bear

arms. I say if anyone wants to take my guns.

. .. . .. . ...You can try but you might want to

wait till I'm reloading!!!!!''-Matt Calnan

''There are so many reasons to oppose gun

control, it's hard to pick a favorite. I would

say that the main reason is that it simply

doesn't work. Look at places like Great Britain

and Mexico-have they become violencefree

Utopias, or do their defenseless citizens

now suffer exploded rates of violent crimes

committed with total impunity since having

been disarmed? If civil disarmament worked

well, then Great Britain wouldn't need 40

cameras on every street corner; and they

wouldn't try to do it either for fear of armed

revolt. What do our leaders hope to accomplish

with gun control? Also, how many of

them are willing to give up their own guns,

or the guns of their bodyguards? Finally, if

they take our weapons, will they legislate to

overturn Castle Rock v. Gonzales? If not,

then WHO will protect us?''-Ian Sean Montgomery

''Whether you are for or against gun control

you can still recognize that H.R. 45 is

simply unconstitutional''-Joe Chollak

''A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded

sexual and emotional maturity.''-Sigmund

Freud

''I live in Montana and I enjoy [spending]

my time in the outdoors. I grew up learning

the responsibilities of firearm ownership

from my father and my grandfather. I use

those same responsibilities in my everyday

life. I spend my fall hunting and the meat

that I harvest rarely remains in my freezer

because I like to donate it to local charities

like the rescue missions and the food banks

in my hometown. If this regulation becomes

readily available and can later be used as but

step in the ladder to complete firearm [eradication].

If this bill is put into I know that

many families who rely on groups like the

food bank for meat will go without because

this form of charity will become a distant

memory.''-Ryan Belke

''Once freedom is given up, or even compromised,

it can never be taken back. Compromise,

even in the deceitful form of regulations,

is not an infringement on the ownership

of guns, but an infringement on what it

means to be an American and the rights

granted, declared, and (supposedly) defended

by the government whom the people support.

These are our rights as Americans. Take

them away, and you take America away.

You take away life, liberty, and the pursuit

of happiness . . . because that is what Americans

are promised. Take away the promise,

and you leave us with nothing.''-Justin

Countryman

''If the right to bear arms is taken away,

what will be next? One by one other freedom

will be stripped away. The right to bear arms

gives citizens the right and ability to defend

themselves against criminals, and even if

necessary our own government. In these uncertain

times this is definitely a right we

don't want taken away. I've heard a quote

and don't know the exact source that 'if guns

are outlawed only outlaws will have

guns.' ''-Niki Griffis

''HR 45 makes the jobs of criminals easier

and threatens the safety of all law abiding

citizens, with it you can also say goodbye to

your 2nd and 4th amendment rights! It also

hurts a family tradition of target shooting

and hunting that so many people share.''-

Brant Manley

''Honest citizens use the right to bear arms

as a source of recreation through hunting,

trap shooting, etc. as well as a for an essential

source of protection in dangerous situations.

We follow the firearm regulations that

are already in place. Criminals, however, do

not. The only people who will be affected by

further restrictions against our right to bear

arms will be law-abiding citizens. HR 45 will

have no affect on criminals. Instead, the

only people left with firearms will be the

ones who should not possess them in the first

place.''-Christine Hodges

''I have seen it argued that HR 45 is simply

a bill proposing gun registration. That contention

is absolutely false. HR 45 is nothing

less than a backdoor attempt to circumvent

the 2nd Amendment, by harassing law-abiding

citizens into giving up their firearms.

Criminals don't register guns anyway. It's

quite obvious who this bill is directed toward

. . . and it isn't criminals. HR 45 addresses

only law-abiding citizens; yet, treats them

no better than convicted sex offenders or

other felons just because they own a firearm.

When the government starts using heavyhanded

tactics to suppress the freedoms of

law-abiding citizens, then those citizens need

to stand firm in defense of their rights, and

preserve the integrity of the US Constitution.''-

Debra Sullivan