Second Amendment
I believe the Constitution of the United States is clear on the matter of a citizen’s right to bear arms.
I believe the Constitution of the United States is clear on the matter of a citizen’s right to bear arms. It explicitly states the “right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” People choose to own firearms for a variety of reasons and I do not believe the U.S. Congress should be further restricting the ability of a law abiding citizen to own a firearm.
I had the privilege of reading the Second Amendment while reading the Constitution on the floor of the House of Representatives during my first week in Congress. You can watch video of this by clicking here.
Be assured that I am against new gun control legislation because we need to protect our Second Amendment rights from both intended and unintended consequences.
I write a Second Amendment E-Newsletter to keep Granite Staters informed about what I am doing on this important issue. If you would like to recieve a copy of the e-newsletter, please email my Director of Constituent Services, Sean Thomas at sean.thomas@mail.house.gov and he will add you to our distribution list.
Legislative Action:
Voted for H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen's Heritage Act
- Sportsmen's Heritage Act is crucial to recognizing the importance of and facilitating the expansion of recreational gun rights afforded to all law-abiding Americans.
- This legislation would permit federal land management officials to open lands and waters to recreational fishing, sport hunting, and shooting. Due to the sensitive nature of some areas to national security interests and conservation – certain federal areas will continue to be off limits, yet H.R. 4089 would dramatically increase opportunities for fishing, hunting, and shooting across the country
- On April 17, 2012, I voted in favor of H.R. 4089 which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 274-146. It awaits action on the Senate.
Cosponsor of H.R 822 Latest Title: National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011
- Permits an individual who has a valid carriers permit in one state to carry the firearm in another state assuming they are not already prohibited from carrying a weapon. Passed the House in a bipartisan vote of 271-153 on November 15, 2011.
Cosponsor of H.R. 1865, The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act
- Army Corps of Engineers manages over 11.7 million acres (400 lakes, 90,000 campsites and 4,000 miles of trails)
- Currently you can’t carry a firearm on these lands. This bill reverses that policy and permits law abiding citizens to carry firearms.
Original Cosponsor of the Target Practice and Marksmanship Training Support Act
- Allows states to use their Pittman-Robertson federal wildlife funding to build and maintain safe shooting ranges.
- Increases amount of money states can use from their Pittman Robertson fund from 75 to 90% of fund to use for public target range.
- Allows for this fund to accrue over the course of five fiscal years to purchase or acquire land. Currently they must spend it within the fiscal year.