Second Amendment

Second Amendment

"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." - Second Amendment, The Constitution of United States

These are the words to the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, and words that I have taken an oath to uphold. The ability of decent, hard-working Americans to own a gun, whether for sport or protection, must not be compromised. Only a government that does not trust its citizens would refuse them the right to bear arms.

While we must provide the law enforcement community the tools necessary to combat society's criminal element, we must also ensure the rights and freedoms of law-abiding citizens are not infringed upon. Sportsmen, hunters, gun enthusiasts and citizens concerned for their personal safety have a right to own guns for these legitimate purposes, and I am committed to fighting for these rights for the constituents of the Third District of Arkansas.

I am a member of the Second Amendment Task Force, a bipartisan group of Members from a wide spectrum of backgrounds that represents a large geographical area. The task force was created in the 111th Congress to monitor legislation regarding the Second Amendment in the U.S. House of Representatives. It acts as a unified and proactive force to promote legislation that protects the Second Amendment and to fight legislation that poses a threat to citizens’ Constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

I am continuing the fight for our Second Amendment Rights. In the 111th Congress I reintroduced the Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act which allows law-abiding citizens who can legally carry guns in their home state to carry all across the country and cosponsored H.R. 197, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009 which amends the federal criminal code to establish a national standard for carrying a concealed firearm. I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 17, the Citizen’s Self-Defense Act of 2009 which declares that a person is not prohibited under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act from receiving a firearm shall have the right to obtain firearms for security and to use firearms in defense of self, family, or home, and for providing the enforcement of such right. 

Congressional Research Service Reports:

The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is part of the legislative branch of the federal government. CRS, which is a department of the Library of Congress, works exclusively as a nonpartisan analytical, research, and reference arm for Congress.

CRS Reports are in PDF format. In order to view these files, you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your PC. You can download the free reader from Adobe's website. These files may be rather large and may take a few minutes to download.

Gun Control Legislation