Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Elections Matter: Pro-Second Amendment House Stands Up for Your Rights in Funding Bill

Friday, June 5, 2015

Elections Matter:  Pro-Second Amendment House Stands Up for Your Rights in Funding Bill

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives showed its strong support for the Second Amendment by sending H.R. 2578 -- the Fiscal Year Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (CJS) -- to the Senate with numerous pro-gun, pro-liberty provisions. While a number of these are listed in our accompanying press release, a few deserve special mention. All show Congress asserting its role as the peoples' representatives against a president and administrative state that has embarked on a lawless crusade to suppress the right to keep and bear arms.

Last year, the Obama Administration (well before it attempted to ban one of the most popular forms of AR-15 ammunition under its infamous "Framework" for "armor piercing ammunition)," issued a "special advisory" summarily prohibiting the importation of 5.45x39 7N6. The move against 7N6 was made without public input and without regard to whether the popular and affordable cartridge qualified for a "sporting purposes" exception under the federal "armor piercing ammunition" law. Rep. Paul Gossar (R.-Ariz.) championed an amendment to the CJS prohibiting the special advisory from being carried out, stating: "ATF reclassified 7N6 only after finding an extremely rare and obscure Polish-made pistol that could supposedly shoot the 7N6 cartridge. Banning 7N6 ammunition commonly used by sportsmen for target practice through a misguided advisory is another example of federal overreach by the ATF."

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) offered his own CJS amendment to prohibit the use of funds to treat ammunition as armor piercing for purposes of the Gun Control Act, except for ammunition designed and intended for use in a handgun. This would prohibit enactment of the BATFE "Framework," restore the original intent of the congressional restrictions on "armor piercing ammunition," and curb BATFE's discretion to arbitrarily reclassify ammunition for political reasons. Rep. Massie's amendment is a clear rebuke to administrative overreach.

Rep. Rob Carter (R-Tex.) also weighed in against BATFE's imperious tendencies with his CJS amendment to prohibit the use of funds to propose or to issue a rule that would change the chief law enforcement officer (CLEO) certification requirement for the making or transfer of an NFA firearm, including suppressors. This measure is in response to a BATFE rulemaking from 2013 known as "41P." As we reported at the time, the 41P rule would allow CLEOs to effectively veto NFA transfers for even the most law-abiding of citizens.  In these CLEOs' jurisdictions, 41P would act as a de facto ban on the otherwise perfectly lawful transfer of NFA firearms. 

Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) sponsored a CJS amendment that would correct a long-term injustice under which petitions for relief from firearm disabilities, authorized by Congress in the Gun Control Act, are not even being considered by the Department of Justice (DOJ) or the courts. In some cases, these disabilities affect people who were convicted of non-violent offenses, paid their debts to society, and went on to live productive, law-abiding lives. In others, they reach people who had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor to put their court cases behind them, only to discover years later that their convictions deprived them of their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. And in other cases, people become disabled after a suffering an episode of mental illness that required hospitalization at the time but from which they later fully recovered. Under Rep. Buck's amendment, all these people would again have a chance to make their case to DOJ and the courts as to why they can safely resume the exercise of their Second Amendment rights.

The CJS also contained other important amendments and provisions of interest to gun owners including:

  • a prohibition on the use of funds for "Operation Choke Point," a program that deprives gun shops and other legitimate businesses with access to banking services;
  • a prohibition on the use of funds to maintain any record or gun registry on multiple rifle or shotgun sales to law-abiding individuals; and
  • a prohibition on the use of funds for collecting data regarding a person's race or ethnicity on a Form 4473 when purchasing a firearm.

We thank all of the House members who stood tall for the Second Amendment, and we call upon the Senate to ensure these beneficial provisions reach the president's desk.

TRENDING NOW
Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Colorado: Mandatory Storage Bill Passes General Assembly and Semi-Auto Ban Temporarily Removed from Calendar

In a temporary reprieve for Colorado gun owners, the semi-auto ban HB24-1292 has been removed from the calendar. But we cannot let our guard down as gun control advocates can bring it up for a vote at ...

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The U.S. Supreme Court Looks at Government “Blacklists”

Much of the attention this past week in the United States Supreme Court was the oral arguments in National Rifle Association of America v. Vullo, No. 22-842, a First Amendment case on whether government officials ...

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

News  

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

25 years and one PLCAA Later, Chicago is Still Harassing Gunmakers

On March 19, the city of Chicago filed suit against handgun manufacturer Glock. Seeking to shift responsibility for the city’s woeful governance, Chicago’s lawsuit blames the popular firearm manufacturer for the third-party criminal misuse of ...

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Washington: Governor Signs Anti-Gun Legislation

Today, Governor Inslee signed five anti-gun bills into law that were recently passed by the Washington State Legislature. The bills include:

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Colorado: Semi-Auto Ban Passes Committee and Sensitive Places Bill Hearing Rescheduled for Today!

Yesterday the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on House Bill 24-1292, the semi-auto ban, that lasted over 12 hours where hundreds of patriotic Coloradans overloaded the committee with opposition testimony. The hearing concluded with an ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

News  

Second Amendment  

Monday, March 25, 2024

NRA Files Amicus Brief Asking Supreme Court to Hear Antonyuk v. James

In response to the NRA’s victory in Bruen, which secured every American’s right to carry arms, NY passed the “Concealed Carry Improvement Act,” severely restricting carry throughout the state. The 2nd Circuit upheld many of ...

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Pennsylvania: Senate Committee Passes Full Inclusion Sunday Hunting

On Wednesday, the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee voted 7-4 to pass Senate Bill 67 to the Senate floor for a vote. 

California: DOJ Proposes Emergency Rule that Reauthorizes NRA Instructors

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

California: DOJ Proposes Emergency Rule that Reauthorizes NRA Instructors

On Monday, March 25th, the California Department of Justice published an emergency rulemaking package proposing to amend the Carry Concealed Weapons DOJ Certified Instructors regulations. Under the proposed rulemaking, NRA Certified Instructors would once again ...

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

Take Action  

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Grassroots Spotlight: Michigan Grassroots

It's been a busy start to the year in the Wolverine State, as the Michigan NRA-ILA Grassroots Team has been out alerting and educating members and supporters on the critical changes in gun laws and working to stop ...

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Kentucky: Credit Card Data Privacy Bill Passed Into Law

Today, Governor Andy Beshear let HB 357, the Merchant Category Code ban legislation pass into law without his signature. Your NRA would like to thank Representatives Derek Lewis (R, H-90), Michael Meredith (R, H-19), and Senator ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.