Defending Right to Bear Arms

Floor Speech

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Mr. HUDSON. Madam Speaker, I rise, a proud defender of our rights as guaranteed in the Second Amendment.

Ever since I was a little boy, my grandfather taught me the right way to handle a gun. I have loved the outdoors and appreciate the freedom that comes from our Second Amendment.

As an adult, I came to understand the Second Amendment is the right that allows us to defend all of our other rights. Unfortunately, the Biden administration has declared war on the Second Amendment. In just the past 6 months, the President and my colleagues across the aisle have pushed numerous gun control policies that would have zero impact on violence but threaten law-abiding citizens.

The most recent example is a proposed rule from the ATF to impose a new tax and ban on stabilizing braces. This proposed regulation jeopardizes the right of law-abiding gun owners, including disabled combat veterans who rely on these braces. In fact, these braces were invented to assist disabled veterans.

Should this rule go into effect, a disabled veteran who has chosen the best brace for their disability is now breaking the law unless they turn in or destroy the firearm, destroy the brace, or pay a $200 tax. This radical policy could make millions of law-abiding citizens into felons overnight.

Recently, I led 140 Members of Congress to call on the ATF to withdraw that regulation. Forty-eight Senators also joined this effort, and we are united in pushing back against this extreme gun control agenda. Moms and dads, sons and daughters, and, yes, disabled veterans--every law-abiding American should have the right to protect themselves and exercise their rights as enshrined in our Constitution.

That is why I have also been a leader on expanding concealed carry reciprocity across our country. As the author of H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, I am working to ensure law-abiding concealed carry permit holders do not become criminals when they cross an invisible State line. It is common sense. Due, in part, to rising crime sweeping our Nation, legal gun ownership has reached record highs, making H.R. 38 needed now more than ever. These millions of Americans looking to defend themselves and their families deserve to have their rights respected and protected.

Madam Speaker, I agree with my colleagues who say we must do more to protect our schools and our communities, but the answer is never taking guns away from law-abiding citizens. It is supporting good police officers, hardening our schools, building on the STOP School Violence Act, and investing in mental healthcare. These are all accomplishments of the last Republican House majority.

I hope my colleagues across the aisle will work with me to build on these solutions which should be overwhelmingly bipartisan. Together, we can make real change without dismantling the Second Amendment.

Madam Speaker, I thank Representative Andrew Clyde for his leadership on defending our Second Amendment, and for hosting this excellent Special Order tonight.

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