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Legislative Update from Washington

Washington, D.C., February 25, 2019

My office has received numerous calls and emails about legislation scheduled for a vote this week in the U.S. House known as H.R. 8. This bill would require most sales, gifts and loans of firearms be processed by a federal firearm licensee (e.g. gun store). It is a flawed piece of legislation that I cannot support.

Never mind numerous studies that confirm the overwhelming majority of criminals do not acquire their firearms through channels where a background check is performed. (No surprise there.) Here’s what you should know:

Federal law already prohibits the transfer of a gun to someone known or believed to be prohibited from possessing that weapon. However, the objective with H.R. 8 is to have most every firearm transfer processed by a federal firearm licensee, where significant fees become part of each transaction. Democrats refused Republican amendments to cap those fees. In fact, Democrats blocked every single Republican amendment to this legislation.

Imagine being deployed overseas in the military and wanting to leave your personal firearm in a friend’s gun safe while you’re away. Or imagine being a victim of domestic violence and wanting desperately to borrow a neighbor’s gun until you can be certain of your safety. These examples, and countless others, would be felonies under this proposed law… unless you went through a federal firearm licensee and paid the associated fees. (Oh, and then paid the fees again to have the firearms transferred back.)

This bill represents unnecessary regulations and excessive financial burdens on our 2nd Amendment rights. It’s scheduled for a vote on Wednesday, and I’ll be voting No.