[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS THE LAW OF THE LAND WHETHER OR NOT IT'S 
                               CONVENIENT

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, February 27, 2015

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, when this Administration doesn't get 
its way, it sets aside the Constitution and does what it wants anyway. 
Much to the displeasure of the White House, Congress has defended the 
Second Amendment from the President's efforts to infringe on Americans' 
right to bear arms. So, the White House has now announced through an 
executive edict by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and 
Explosives (ATF) a ban on common rifle ammunition used by millions of 
law abiding gun owners in the United States.
  Instead of addressing the problem, those who unlawfully possess and 
use firearms, the ATF is now focused on disarming those who follow the 
law and exercise their constitutionally protected right. ATF's own 
mission statement says its duty is to protect our communities from 
dangers like ``violent criminals'' and ``acts of terrorism.'' Mission 
aborted. Suppressing the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding 
Americans for political points is its new objective.
  This country was founded on a system of checks and balances with 
certain enumerated powers and limitations. Restricted power is not 
always convenient, but that's what our Founders intended. This 
Administration views the Constitution as a suggestion and not the law 
of the land. It views Congress as a nuisance that gets in the way of 
its agenda. So, it has used almost every agency of non-elected 
bureaucrats to achieve a political goal by bullying through kicking, 
stomping and ignoring the constitutional rights of the people. The 
President cannot obtain his government oppression of rights through the 
lawful legislative process. Thus the IRS targeting conservative 
organizations; the FCC imposing an unprecedented system to control the 
Internet; HHS restricting the religious liberty of companies; the 
Department of Justice wiretapping reporters to silence them; the NSA 
snooping on millions of Americans without a warrant; and the Department 
of Homeland Security imposing amnesty on this nation are clear 
violations of the Constitution. There are many other examples and now 
the ATF's proposal to ban AR-15 ammo is further proof that this 
Administration sees the Constitution as a mere suggestion, rather than 
the law of the land.
  The natural right to bear arms is long ingrained in the soul of the 
people of this nation. The Administration forgets that America's War of 
Independence started when King George's Redcoats tried--
unsuccessfully--to take the firearms away from the colonists. Further 
the Texas War of Independence began in a similar way when the Mexican 
Dictator tried--unsuccessfully--to take away the guns of Texans in 
1835. The guarantees of the Second Amendment are intertwined in our 
nation's history, and the Constitution is the supreme law of the land 
whether or not it's convenient to the Administration.
  And that's just the way it is.

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