[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 8, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E745]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN PRAISE OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION'S SUPPORT OF OUR 2ND AMENDMENT 
                      RIGHTS TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RONNIE SHOWS

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 8, 2002

  Mr. SHOWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my praise to President 
Bush for declaring that the Second Amendment protects an individual's 
right to possess a firearm and is not tied to the maintenance of state 
militias.
  On Monday, Solicitor General Theodore Olsen made the Bush 
Administration's position clear when he filed briefs in the Supreme 
Court on two cases that are under review. In short, it is the 
Administration's position that the Second Amendment grants an 
individual the right to keep and bear arms.
  I am pleased that the Bush Administration has recognized that the 
Constitution protects individual rights to keep and bear arms. But we 
must always remain vigilant against efforts to strip us of our rights. 
As a member of the National Rifle Association, I vigorously oppose any 
gun control efforts that violate our Constitutional rights, such as 
national registration of law-abiding gun owners or misguided law suits 
against gun manufacturers.
  Some people believe that enacting new laws against guns will prevent 
school violence or crimes committed with guns. It is easy for them to 
equate gun violence with the need for greater gun control, but this is 
a complex problem with many factors contributing to it, not just guns. 
We should stop looking for scapegoats. Simply enacting more gun control 
laws on top of the many already in place does not begin to address this 
problem.
  Again, I applaud President Bush for taking a strong stand in favor of 
our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

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