[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 3 (Wednesday, January 6, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H22-H23]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            SECOND AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West 
Virginia (Mr. Jenkins) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, with the recent 
announcement of new policies to restrict firearms, President Obama has 
yet again used executive overreach to force his agenda on the American 
people. Congress has already rejected these policies in a bipartisan 
fashion, and this action is another example of the President 
overstepping his constitutional authority to circumvent the people's 
voices in Congress. The administration's assault on Americans' 
constitutional rights must stop.
  Time and time again, our courts have defended the Second Amendment, 
and

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Congress has voted repeatedly to reject new restrictions on our 
constitutional rights. For more than 200 years, the Second Amendment 
has been protected and championed by Americans, the courts, and 
Congress. We must stand together to defend and protect our 
constitutional rights. As a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, 
I am outraged by President Obama's actions and will fight to stop this 
executive order.
  In my home State of West Virginia, using guns for sport and hunting 
is a way of life. We respect firearms and are taught at an early age 
how to use them. In many families, fathers and mothers teach their 
children how to hunt and, when they are old enough, they receive their 
own gun as an important coming-of-age tradition. West Virginians are 
not alone. Families across this country have these same traditions and 
sports.
  As West Virginians, we know that law-abiding citizens are not the 
problem and our country was not founded on the principles of taking 
away rights from the people. Our rights cannot and should not be taken 
away. This administration is determined to attack our way of life, our 
traditions, and our constitutional rights. I wish I could say this is a 
surprise, but time and time again, this President has used executive 
actions and regulations to eliminate policies and rights he disagrees 
with.

                              {time}  1045

  Sadly, we have seen this far too often with the Environmental 
Protection Agency, the EPA, which has aggressively--aggressively--used 
regulations and rules to destroy our coal-mining communities, in 
particular, in my State of West Virginia.
  I have fought to stop the EPA and will fight to stop President 
Obama's executive actions on gun control. As a member of the House 
Committee on Appropriations, I will use the power of the purse to 
eliminate funding for these new actions. As a Member of Congress, I am 
dedicated to working for our State and doing what is right for the 
people of West Virginia. I will continue to support our constitutional 
rights, including the Second Amendment, and push back on the 
administration's overreach into our lives, businesses, and communities.

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