Steube Votes Against Unconstitutional Attacks on Law-Abiding Gun Owners
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today voted against H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446, two pieces of legislation designed to infringe the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
“Cities across the country have seen historic crime spikes, and Democrats have spent the last two weeks attacking law enforcement, giving stimulus checks to felons, and now taking away Second Amendment rights from law-abiding gun owners,” Steube said. “These proposals would not have prevented a single mass shooting we have seen – they are simply unconstitutional power grabs that only serve to infringe on our rights and make our communities less safe.”
H.R. 8 seeks to impose redundant background checks that already occur on all gun sales. If enacted, this legislation would require an additional background check if a law-abiding gun owner wanted to lend a firearm to a neighbor or friend for self-protection.
These requirements are duplicative to existing federal law, which already prohibits transferring a firearm to someone without a firearms license or otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. Current federal law also prohibits providing handguns to juveniles or dealers selling rifles or shotguns to minors.
Aside from these unnecessary additional background checks, there are concerns that this legislation would lead to a national gun registry, opening the door for future unconstitutional gun-grabbing regulations.
H.R. 1446 undermines the existing National Instant Background Check System (NICS) by eliminating the 3-day requirement for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to complete their background checks. Rather than ensuring law-abiding Americans can access firearms in a timely manner, this legislation allows the FBI and the federal government to indefinitely delay our citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights.
Steube filed two amendments to H.R. 8, intended to clarify and protect the handgun transfer process for spouses of deployed military members and to protect the rights of individuals with valid State-issued permits. Both amendments were blocked by House Democrats, completely on party lines.
Steube released the following video after the passage of both pieces of legislation:
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