Protecting Our Kids Act
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Ohio for yielding.
I rise in opposition to the so-called Protecting Our Kids Act. What we saw 2 weeks ago in Uvalde, Texas, was tragic and horrific, and we should take action to prevent future tragedies such as this one, but this bill is not the solution for several reasons.
First, the bill restricts the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding adults. With very limited exceptions, the bill would prohibit 18- to 20-year-olds from buying nearly all semiautomatic rifles and shotguns.
During the markup of this bill, the Judiciary Committee chairman argued that this is applicable because these young adults don't have fully formed brains. Yet, we entrust these same young adults to serve our country in the military and die for our country. We trust these young adults to vote in our elections.
What is even more interesting is while Democrats believe that these young adults don't have fully formed brains, they certainly are more than willing to try to reduce the age at which a person can vote to 16.
Second, the bill makes it more difficult for a domestic violence victim to keep a firearm for protection. As drafted, the bill would criminalize a domestic violence victim's attempt to seek help from a friend or neighbor in obtaining a firearm.
The safe storage requirements of the bill make it harder for people to access a firearm in an emergency by mandating a one-size-fits-all approach for firearm storage.
Finally, the bill's limits on magazine capacity will essentially ban many common firearms, some of which may accommodate between 15 and 30 rounds of ammunition.
Overall, this bill is an attempt to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens while ignoring the broader problems of why these tragedies are happening.
Let's talk about school resource officers in our schools. Let's talk about fortifying school buildings. Let's talk about ending the dangerous mirage of gun-free zones. And yes, let's talk about mental health.
We have to look for commonsense solutions that make it easier for Americans to protect themselves and their loved ones. I oppose this bill, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source