Federal Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2021
Floor Speech
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Jordan for yielding.
You know, we have heard some revealing things this week. It was just a few moments ago our colleague from Tennessee, Mr. Cohen, lectured us that the Old Testament doesn't mention the word ``guns'' and so we shouldn't claim that this is a fundamental freedom. You know, as usual, he misunderstands the point of Scripture and the Constitution.
Here is the thing: As Americans, we respect and we protect the unalienable, God-given right to self-protection and to the protection of innocent lives around us.
President Biden said--among other outrageous things this week we have heard, President Biden said that he wanted to ban 9-millimeter handguns. That is one of the most widely owned handguns by law-abiding citizens in this country.
Mr. Cicilline of Rhode Island, now infamously in our committee hearing, exclaimed, ``Spare me the'' B.S.--that is not what he said-- ``Spare me the'' B.S. ``about constitutional rights.'' That is pretty revealing.
Mr. Jones, in the same hearing, just a few moments later, he said that if Democrats don't get their way on their gun control wish list, that they will abolish the filibuster and pack the Supreme Court. They are saying the quiet parts out loud.
See, that wish list that they have includes taking away guns from Americans without the constitutionally required due process of law, which is exactly what this bill would do. It would allow the courts to take guns away from people without notice and without even the right to appear in the hearing to defend themselves in court.
Now, the other side is going to tell you, and you will hear in the argument here, hey, there is due process. Don't worry about it, they will say, because people subjected to this process, they can just go to court and they can petition to get their firearms back.
But I will let my colleagues in on something that every first-year law student learns: Due process after the fact is no due process at all.
Now, the other side is also going to argue here--get ready for it-- they are going to claim that they have come up with a reasonable compromise by just making these gun confiscation orders temporary. They will say it is only going to last 14 days. They won't tell you that these orders can be renewed indefinitely.
My Democrat colleagues are going to tell you that this bill will save lives. But if you look at the objective studies, the comprehensive studies on this, you will find that the red flag laws in all these States have had no significant effect on the rates of murder, suicide, or the number of people killed in mass public shootings.
If this bill passes, people may have their information added to the national crime databases, even though they committed no crime. In what version of America do we think that is okay?
The Democrats claim Republicans don't care about gun violence. But while they may repeat this over and over and over, it doesn't make it any more true. If you look at the record, House Republicans have worked tirelessly to combat gun violence by enacting meaningful laws to put more resources into mental health, to provide training for guidance counselors, and fund grants for law enforcement.
The other side, meanwhile, is actively trying to defund police. And just last week, they voted against giving money to schools to enhance security.
Democrats refused to work with us on legislation that would actually do something; that would actually reduce the rate of gun violence in this country.
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Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana. And instead, they are taking advantage of tragedies. That is what they are doing. They are taking advantage of tragedies to promote their agenda to destroy our constitutional rights, and it is shameful.
I will tell you this: When Republicans take back the majority next year, we will work to begin to address the root causes of the violence and the mayhem in our country. That day cannot come soon enough.
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