[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2307-2309]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             GOP FRESHMAN CLASS HOUR: THE SECOND AMENDMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Valadao). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.


                             General Leave

  Mr. MESSER. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 
legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous materials on the subject of this Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Indiana?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. MESSER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as part of the second in a 
series of Special Orders put on by the newly elected freshman 
Republican caucus. Our first was on spending; today we rise to speak on 
the Second Amendment.
  I have participated, in the first 50 days of my service here in this 
Chamber, in 19 public events throughout the Sixth District of Indiana--
coffees, meetings with constituents, the public, folks who vote to send 
us here--and I can tell you in every one of those events people have 
two topics top of mind: they're focused on spending; they're focused on 
the sequester. They're tired of the Federal Government that continues 
to spend money that we don't have, and they want the government to 
follow the principle that every American family does, which is, you 
don't spend money unless you have money to spend. But the second topic 
that I hear everywhere that I go is the Second Amendment and the 
importance of making sure that that bedrock principle of American 
liberty is protected.
  We all know of the tragic events that have occurred in recent months 
here in America--obviously the Connecticut tragedy being foremost on 
top of the mind. I want to make clear in my comments, as I do all 
throughout my district, that as a Nation we are heartbroken by 
tragedies like that when they occur. As a Nation, we mourn and weep 
with the families that had to deal with those tragedies. But as sad and 
tragic as those circumstances are, we cannot allow those events to be 
an excuse to undercut the Second Amendment and all that it means for 
liberty in this Nation.

[[Page 2308]]

  There are opportunities to make a difference for public safety in 
this debate. It is time for a national conversation about mental health 
because the common denominator in every one of these crimes is that the 
perpetrator is someone who is mentally ill.
  There are opportunities to do more on school security, and I'm 
hopeful that we will be able to work through those as we move forward. 
But this much must be made clear: gun bans don't work. They are only 
effective at preventing law-abiding citizens from having guns because 
the criminals and mentally deranged that commit these crimes don't care 
about the fact that there is a law that would have them not have a gun. 
To blame a gun for a crime is to blame a pen for a misspelled word. I 
look forward to the opportunity to dialogue with my colleagues today on 
this important topic.
  I appreciate Congressman Stockman and Congressman Williams for their 
comments just a few minutes ago.
  I yield to the gentleman from Utah to step forward and give comments 
on this important topic.
  Mr. STEWART. I thank the gentleman from Indiana for yielding his 
time.
  I had the great blessing of growing up on a family farm. I know what 
it's like as a kid to be so excited to go hunting with my brothers and 
with my father that you can't sleep the night before. I also had the 
great privilege of serving for 14 years as a pilot and an officer in 
the United States Air Force. There I learned a little bit about 
defending our Nation through an adequate show of force. I also, by the 
way, qualified as an expert marksman in small arms.
  Recent and saddening events of violence have brought conversations 
about guns to the national stage. These acts of violence, as terrible 
as they are, should not be used by the White House as justification to 
revoke the rights outlined in our Constitution.
  The Second Amendment clearly states that the right of the people to 
keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Our Founding Fathers created 
this amendment to protect the citizens from government tyranny. In 
2008, the Supreme Court emphatically stated that the right to bear arms 
is an individual right. Today, it continues to ensure Americans' right 
to defend themselves against the evil in the world.
  Based on a survey as recently as 2000, U.S. civilians do use guns to 
protect themselves and others from crime at least 990,000 times a 
year--almost 1 million times a year. It's critical that we continue to 
protect this personal and absolute right.
  While gun-related violence is indeed tragic--and we all know that it 
is; as my friend, the gentleman from Indiana, has so eloquently stated, 
we bleed for those who suffer from this--it's important to note that it 
only accounts for a small portion of the violent crimes that are 
committed in the United States.
  As an example, the U.S. Department of Justice has said that of the 
roughly 5 million violent crimes committed in the United States during 
2008, only 8 percent were committed by offenders who visibly were armed 
with a gun. Most of those crimes were committed with guns that were 
already illegal. Even the U.S. Justice Department conducted a survey in 
the 1990s and found that approximately 79 percent of the State prison 
inmates that carried a firearm during an offense that sent them to jail 
received their gun either through an illegal source or from one of 
their friends or family.
  Stricter laws to ban guns will not solve any of these problems. We 
already have many laws in place; but instead of creating new and 
harsher laws, we need to do a better job of enforcing the gun laws that 
we currently have.
  Finally, let me say this: I believe that the timing of this proposal 
and these bills, it just isn't right. At a time when sequestration just 
went into effect and our country is on a path towards bankruptcy, it's 
unacceptable that the White House continues to push its gun control 
agenda.
  We need to be focusing on getting our country back on a path of 
fiscal sanity. We need the President and his administration to show 
leadership. We need to ensure that America maintains its leadership 
role in the world. To do that, we need to budget and to spend 
responsibly. We need to replace President Obama's sequester--and it is 
this President's sequester--with commonsense spending cuts and reforms.
  Most importantly, we need the President to demonstrate an 
understanding of the Nation's need to balance our budget and get us 
back on a path towards fiscal sanity. That is the great fight of our 
day. That is the great challenge that we are facing.
  My heart bleeds for the victims of gun violence--whether they're in 
Newtown or in New York or in my home district--but the President's 
proposals will not help.

                              {time}  1920

  They aren't designed to address the core problems of mental health or 
a culture that is steeped in violence, violence that is thrust upon our 
children through media that are bent upon making more money through the 
violence that they propagate. Mr. Speaker, let's concentrate our 
attention on the greatest challenge of our day, not on a Band-Aid of 
additional laws that are designed to do nothing but to make some 
liberals feel better.
  To the gentleman from Indiana, I yield back and thank you for this 
opportunity to address the House.
  Mr. MESSER. I appreciate the comments of the gentleman from Utah.
  As we consider the tragedy that occurred in Newtown, Connecticut, it 
is natural to want to do something to prevent that from ever happening 
again. The victims of such unthinkable crimes deserve our solemn 
prayers for their loss and our deepest sympathy for their pain. The 
perpetrators of such evil deserve justice for their crimes.
  The problem, however, is that the President and other opponents of 
the Second Amendment are seeking to limit our constitutional rights by 
pitching Americans a false sense of security: that by taking away 
rights, somehow those who intend to do harm will not do so. History 
shows that gun bans only keep guns away from law-abiding citizens, not 
criminals. Those who want to build, modify, or acquire weapons for 
violence will do so.
  I recognize the gentleman from Florida on this important topic.
  Mr. YOHO. I'd like to thank the gentleman from Indiana for his time. 
Mr. Speaker, I'd like to thank you for allowing me to rise here today.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to address this body tonight about a subject that 
weighs heavy on the minds of many of my constituents and many 
Americans. It is a subject and a right that has been granted to us by 
our country's founding principles, the Constitution, not by government. 
It is the birthright of any law-abiding citizen of the United States of 
America, and it is their choice to exercise that right. It is the role 
and duty of government to protect those rights.
  In my 2 months as their Representative, more people in the Third 
Congressional District of Florida have reached out to me with their 
concerns over how Congress will address our Second Amendment after the 
much-publicized, tragic event at Newtown, Connecticut.
  This, indeed, I think we all agree was a senseless act of violence. 
This is not a time to make a knee-jerk reaction and challenge our 
Second Amendment and restrict our rights as law-abiding citizens. This 
is not a time to play partisan politics. This is a time to come 
together.
  This is a time to go after the cause of this despicable act, the 
individual and the cause of gun violence. I stand 100 percent with 
President Obama and all others that want to curb gun violence so long 
as it does not interfere with our Second Amendment. The Second 
Amendment states:

       A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of 
     a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, 
     shall not be infringed.

  This is necessary to protect the Third Amendment:

       No soldier shall in time of peace be quartered in any 
     house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, 
     but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

  Those who commit the unspeakable crime we've witnessed a few months

[[Page 2309]]

ago should not be able to hide behind any amendment or law in this 
country. But the real issue is gun violence, not the gun. We must be 
vigilant in using the laws already available to the fullest extent 
possible and look at why people are doing these crimes. Before we 
punish or infringe upon the rights of the law-abiding individual, we 
should look more at causes of mental health issues that lead to these 
crimes.
  This point is illustrated by the Department of Justice's own internal 
memo that we're discussing tonight, which notes that the greatest 
number of guns used in crime comes from straw purchases, those being 
purchased by someone for someone else or by theft of a gun, not by the 
person that abides by the law.
  Laws that place even more restrictions on law-abiding citizens who 
only want the right to own a gun for any legal activity they determine 
will not deter the person intent on doing harm. People with bad habits 
tend to do bad things.
  The first week of this Congress, I joined many of my colleagues here 
on the House floor in the reading of our Constitution. We took an oath 
at that swearing-in ceremony to uphold the Constitution. I carry a copy 
of our Constitution with me everywhere I go. Any and all we do in this 
body, and our colleagues in the Senate, should be done to uphold, to 
protect, and to strengthen this document; and by doing this, we 
strengthen America. Our Constitution has set America apart from every 
other country in the world, and I aim to keep it that way.
  Mr. MESSER. Thanks again to the gentleman from Florida. I appreciate 
your comments today. I thank my colleague from Utah and my colleagues 
from Texas who had the opportunity to speak earlier, and I appreciate 
your leadership on this important topic.
  Obviously, we face many challenges as a Nation. The Second Amendment 
is one of them, but an important one. Clearly, we all want to prevent 
horrible tragedies similar to the loss of those young lives in Newtown, 
Connecticut; but gun bans and many of the other proposals from this 
President are not the answer.
  For example, an internal memo from the Justice Department said that 
the universal background checks proposed by this President will only be 
effective if paired with required gun registration--a list of law-
abiding citizens who simply exercise their constitutional right to own 
a firearm. This is a blatant intrusion of privacy, and it cannot be 
allowed.
  We need real solutions that aim to identify, treat or limit access to 
the evil few who perpetrate these horrible acts. I am unwilling to turn 
my back on the Constitution and sacrifice the liberty of the people I 
represent for a false sense of security. We need real solutions; and 
despite our disagreements, there are opportunities to work together.
  As I mentioned earlier, blaming a gun for violence is to blame a pen 
for a misspelled word. If we can come together and focus on the real 
causes of this violence, then there are opportunities to work together, 
and I stand ready to work with every Member of this Chamber, regardless 
of party, to move this country forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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