[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 21 (Thursday, February 2, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E260]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E260]]
                  BIG BROTHER AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT

                                 ______


                         HON. RICHARD H. BAKER

                              of louisiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, February 2, 1995
  Mr. BAKER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, today I introduced legislation 
to eliminate the new regulatory authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, 
Tobacco and Firearms [BATF] to ban firearms without congressional 
approval. You will certainly recall that last year, the Clinton crime 
bill authorized the BATF to enforce a ban on 19 semiautomatic guns 
while granting the BATF the discretion to ban additional firearms in 
the future without congressional approval.
  Most people don't realize that along with the 19 semiautomatic 
firearms that are banned specifically by the assault weapons ban, the 
Clinton crime bill gives the BATF broad authority to define what other 
firearms qualify as assault weapons and then to ban these rifles, 
shotguns, and pistols as well without further congressional approval.
  On May 16, 1994, I, and many of you, voted against the assault 
weapons ban, which passed the House of Representatives by a narrow vote 
of 216 to 214. As with every gun control measure, I voted against the 
ban because it does nothing to keep felons off the streets and behind 
bars, and it serves only to infringe upon the constitutional rights of 
law-abiding citizens. In my opinion, giving BATF and the Clinton 
administration the blanket authority to ban more guns was the worst 
part of the crime bill. The legislation I introduced today would repeal 
this authority and close the open door to BATF to ban further guns.
  I am proud to introduce this legislation today with the bipartisan 
support of 12 other original cosponsors. As continued opponents of gun 
control efforts in Congress, we want you to know that this legislation 
was introduced in the hope that we can scale back recent efforts that 
hand over this dangerous amount of control to a bureaucratic agency--an 
agency which crime bill supporters have entrusted to tell the American 
people which firearms they can and cannot have. We believe that this is 
simply too much power that will no doubt be abused in the coming months 
by BATF unless we work to repeal it in Congress.
  As a member of the new Republican majority in the House, I want you 
to join me to scale back the gun control measures enacted under this 
administration. Let us make history by stepping forward to ensure the 
permanent protection the second amendment, which has protected the 
American people for 218 years.


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