Give Us A Vote

Floor Speech

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Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, why is it that more than 80 percent of NRA members and over 80 percent of gun owners support background checks? Well, I will tell you why. It is because they are responsible gun owners; and responsible gun owners understand that there is nothing wrong with making sure that a prospective gun buyer isn't a terrorist, a criminal, a domestic abuser, or dangerously mentally ill.

The Supreme Court made that perfectly clear in District of Columbia v. Heller. The Court ruled that, while Americans have the right to keep and bear arms, there are no constitutional problems with laws prohibiting felons and the dangerously mentally ill from carrying guns.

As a responsible gun owner myself, I will never give up my guns, and I will never ask law-abiding individuals without a history of dangerous mental illness to give up theirs. And, like other responsible gun owners, I understand that if gun violence continues unabated, then eventually we will see laws that place substantial and overly burdensome restrictions on our right to own guns.

To reduce gun violence, we don't need to stop law-abiding citizens who use guns for hunting, sport shooting, and personal protection from obtaining those firearms. We need to stop terrorists, criminals, domestic abusers, and those with a history of dangerous mental illness from getting guns.

Our first line of defense when it comes to making sure that guns don't fall into dangerous hands is to conduct a background check. And we know that, when used, background checks work.

Every day, background checks stop more than 170 felons, some 50 domestic abusers, and nearly 20 fugitives from buying a gun. But sadly, a gaping loophole allows those same felons, dangerously mentally ill, and domestic abusers to bypass a background check in 34 States. All they have to do is go online or go to a gun show. That is wrong; that is dangerous; and that loophole needs to be closed.

That is why it is long past time for the Republican leadership to allow a vote on H.R. 1217, my bipartisan, pro-Second Amendment bill to require a background check for all commercial gun sales. The bill bolsters the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun owners by making sure that the bad guys can't easily bypass background checks when trying to buy a gun.

Just as important for the safety and security of our country and our fellow Americans is H.R. 1076, bipartisan, pro-Second Amendment legislation to prohibit those who are on the FBI's terrorist watch list from being able to legally buy a firearm. We should be able to agree that suspected terrorists shouldn't be able to legally buy a gun or guns of their choosing.

As a responsible gun owner, I am fed up with those who are blindly opposed to background checks hiding behind bumper sticker slogans like: ``Guns don't kill people; people kill people.'' Everyone knows that guns don't kill people, which is exactly why responsible gun owners and the overwhelming majority of the American people understand that it is important to run a background check to see if the person buying the gun is a danger to our community.

This debate isn't a choice between respecting the Second Amendment or reducing gun violence. As a responsible gun owner, I am tired of it being framed that way. It is about this Congress doing both.

The Supreme Court's Heller ruling provides people on both sides with an opportunity to work within the confines of the Second Amendment to pass legislation that will reduce gun violence and keep our communities safe. Responsible gun owners across our country understand that. It is time for the Republican leadership in the House to understand it, too.

Mr. Speaker, give us a vote.

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