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Floor Speech

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Mr. BARRASSO. Every day people across Wyoming responsibly use their Second Amendment rights to keep and to bear arms. Today is about defending those rights against those on the other side of the aisle who wish to take them away from us.

Democrats are demanding that the American people give up their liberty. The Democrat legislation takes away a right, and it does not provide Americans security. Democrats want Washington to ban rifles and pistols because of the way they look. To do this, they describe semiautomatic rifles as assault rifles. They aren't. Any farmer, rancher, or outdoorsman in Wyoming can tell you. These rifles work the same way as popular shotguns and other rifles used for hunting and for personal protection. Instead of facing these facts, Democrats stick to demonizing rifles and disrespecting gun owners.

Democrat's ban on assault weapons is an assault on lawful gun owners. There is a contradiction at the center of the gun control debate. Democrats want to enact new laws on law-abiding citizens. At the same time, they ignore the lawbreakers. Almost every single page of the bill that is in front of us today adds new restrictions and new burdens on people who follow the law. It tells what you can buy, what you can't buy. It bans more than 205 rifles, shotguns, and pistols by name.

Republicans reject these unjustified and unconstitutional restrictions. Democrat's bumper-sticker solution to ban guns is not about safety; it is about restricting lawful gun ownership. It is about trying to label responsible gun owners as criminals. Democrats are the party of defunding the police and disarming the American people.

None of this makes our streets safer. None of this slows the crimewave in America. None of this solves the mental health crisis in our country. The focus should be on mental health, on school safety, and stricter enforcement of current laws. We want Americans to be safe in their communities, their homes, and their schools.

The legislation that the majority leader is proposing that is before us today goes way beyond that. I oppose any policies that jeopardize the Second Amendment rights of the people of Wyoming and people across this country. The Second Amendment is freedom's essential safeguard. Without it, there can be no liberty, and there can be no security.

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