Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. GROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, one more time we see people uncomfortable with our Constitution. Our forefathers gave us the right to bear arms because they wanted law-abiding people to have the right to defend themselves.

Until Ferguson and the rise of the antipolice movement about 5 years ago, the murder rate in this country fell by over one-half between the early 1990s and around 2014.

What happened at that time?

We whipped up some antipolice hysteria, and since that time things have gone wildly up. Now the majority party introduces a cache of bills designed to make it more difficult for law-abiding people to access a weapon while not having any impact on people who wouldn't obey the laws anyway.

They don't like the idea of private transfers. They don't like the idea of being able to get a gun in less than 10 days. They don't like the idea that if the government doesn't give the proper information over--well, apparently, they like the idea that they want to keep people from getting guns if the government, for whatever reason, is slow in turning things over.

In any event, let's go back to the things that worked for 25 years before the rise of the antipolice movement if we really want to see improvement.

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