[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 96 (Thursday, June 5, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Page S3241]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Second Amendment

  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to continue 
Republicans' fighting, as we are fighting tooth and nail to protect the 
rights of American citizens. And one of those rights, of course, is one 
that you and I know very well from our home States, the right to keep 
and bear arms.
  The Second Amendment guarantees that every American--every American--
has the right to own and use a firearm, and every day people across 
your State of Oklahoma, my State of Wyoming, use that right 
responsibly.
  We also know that, for the last 4 years, Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, 
and the radical Democrats have waged a war against the Second Amendment 
rights of American citizens. They tried to ban firearms, tried to tax 
ammunition to the point where it couldn't be afforded, directed the ATF 
to harass law-abiding gun owners, tried to make it impossible for 
citizens to buy, own, transport, or use a firearm.
  So now Republicans are in control in the Senate, the House of 
Representatives, and the White House, and we are defending the Second 
Amendment from those who would try to take it away from us.
  Senator Cornyn of Texas has introduced the Constitutional Concealed 
Carry Reciprocity Act. This bold legislation allows qualified citizens 
to exercise their Second Amendment rights in any State that respects 
concealed carry.
  Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas has introduced something called the 
SHORT Act. This legislation stops rogue bureaucrats--Alcohol, Tobacco, 
and Firearms--from harassing lawful gun owners. It shields citizens 
from unconstitutional gun registration schemes.
  Senator Bill Hagerty of Tennessee has introduced the Protecting 
Privacy in Purchasing Act. This legislation is a direct strike against 
Democrats' alarming overreach on gun purchases. It will safeguard gun 
owners from the government's invasive tracking and spying on lawful 
purchases.
  So, look, I am proud to be a cosponsor of all three of these pieces 
of important pro-freedom legislation. This fight is one of the most 
important that we are ever going to conduct. It is Democrats across the 
country that are determined to take away the rights of law-abiding 
American citizens.
  They are pushing their anti-gun agenda in the courts. It is another 
place this is being fought out. They are scheming right here in the 
U.S. Senate to come after our Second Amendment rights.
  When Democrats held the majority, we know what we saw. They had the 
audacity to try to ram through an unconstitutional so-called assault 
weapons ban, and they tried to do it by unanimous consent, coming here 
onto the floor and just trying to sneak it through. Well, I was proud 
to stand here in this Chamber, face them down, and emphatically say no 
to your unanimous consent.
  Now Democrats are in the minority. Have they changed in terms of 
their beliefs in the Second Amendment? No, not at all. They continue to 
be obsessed with banning semiautomatic firearms simply because of the 
way the firearms look. That is what they are after. Let me be clear. 
Democrats' ban on so-called assault weapons--that is their phrase--is 
an assault on law-abiding gun owners, an assault against all of us. 
Every single page of their bill adds a new restriction, a new burden, 
and a new attack on citizens who follow the law. It dictates what you 
can buy and what you can't buy, bans more than 205 popular rifles, 
shotguns, and pistols, and it bans them by name. That is how extreme 
they have gotten. They want to trample on the rights of law-abiding 
citizens.
  And it is a fascinating thing because they--instead of tramping on 
the rights of law-abiding citizens, they are out there trying to 
protect illegal immigrants' rights, saying they have rights. They 
don't.
  That is the contrast of our party fighting for the rights of 
citizens, their party fighting for the rights of illegal immigrants.
  Democrats are the party of defunding the police, the party of 
disarming the American people. Their actions have made our streets more 
dangerous, not safer. We are for safety and prosperity. They seem to be 
not for either.
  So I oppose any of these policies that threaten the Second Amendment 
rights of the people of Wyoming, the people of your State of Oklahoma, 
and the people from States all across the country.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.