2nd Amendment
Defending Your Right to Bear Arms

As your Representative in Congress I have sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and that is exactly what I've been doing for the last 37 years. As Americans, our forefathers fought, and died, for our right to protect ourselves, to protect our families, and to protect our homes. In Congress, I have been actively defending the rights of gun owners everywhere.  However, several ongoing efforts by anti-gun activists and legislators require constant vigilance and opposition in order to defend our Constitutionally-protected rights.

In support of responsible gun owners everywhere, I have signed onto an amicus curiae brief affirming the individual right to keep and bear arms in the crucial Supreme Court case McDonald vs. Chicago.  In this particular case, the prime objective will be to apply the Second Amendment to all U.S. States through the 14th Amendment.

The incorporation doctrine, using the 14th Amendment’s Due Process Clause, has applied every amendment to all States, except for the Second and Seventh Amendments.  Therefore, the ultimate question McDonald seeks to answer is whether there is some special reason to single out the Second Amendment for exclusion from incorporation.  The amicus curiae brief my colleagues and I have submitted argue that there is no substantive reason not to protect responsible gun owners from possible state and local interference.

During the week of March 20, 2009, I was pleased to see the Department of Defense (DOD) rescinded a suspension of spent cartridge cases that threatened to further limit the already short supply of ammunition for private use in the United States.  I, like the countless responsible gun owners across Alaska and the nation, was troubled to learn that the DOD had recently suspended the sale of fired military small arms cartridge cases.  This suspension not only threatened an already struggling small business community who sells these cartridge cases, but also would have negatively impacted individual gun owners who can purchase these spent cases at a reduced price.

H.R. 45, the Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act, would require all gun owners and prospective gun owners to acquire a federal license in order to possess a gun.  This legislation would be a direct violation of Americans’ Second Amendment rights as stated by the Supreme Court in D.C. v. Heller.  I joined several of my colleagues in submitting an “amicus curiae” brief, affirming the right of individual D.C. citizens to keep and bear arms while the Supreme Court considered the case and I was pleased to see the Supreme Court uphold the rights provided by the Second Amendment.

Bills Pass by the House and Voted For

H.R. 1299 - U.S. Capitol Police Technical Corrections Act of 2009
This bill grants the Sergeant-at-Arms and Doorkeeper of the Senate the same law enforcement authority, including the authority to carry firearms, as a member of the U.S. Capitol Police.

H.R. 1333 -   
This bill amends the federal criminal code to extend the exemption from prohibitions on the transportation, shipment, receipt, or importation of explosive materials to federally-recognized Indian tribes or agencies of such tribes. The bill defines "Indian tribe" as any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe.

H.R. 1586 - FAA Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act
This bill amends title I of division A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, to require certain Amtrak guidance and procedures permitting Amtrak ticketed passengers for a specific Amtrak route to place unloaded firearms or starter pistols in checked bags on such route to include

Bills Cosponsored

H.R. 197 - National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009
This bill establishes a national standard for the carrying of concealed firearms by non-residents. Authorizes a person who has a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm in one state and who is not prohibited from carrying a firearm under federal law to carry a concealed firearm in another state in accordance with the restrictions of that state or as specified under this Act.

H.R. 510 -
This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to require excise taxes on recreational equipment to be due and payable quarterly instead of bi-weekly.

H.R. 1074 - Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act
This bill amends the federal criminal code to allow licensed firearms importers, manufacturers, dealers, or collectors (licensees) to sell or deliver any firearm (currently, rifles or shotguns) to a resident of a state other than the state in which the licensee is located.  Essentially, this bill eliminates the requirement that a licensee must conduct business at a gun show only in the state that is specified on the licensee's license.

H.R. 1620 - Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2009
This bill amends the federal criminal code to provide for reciprocity for the carrying of certain concealed firearms in different states by persons who are not prohibited by federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm and who are: (1) carrying a valid state license or permit for carrying a concealed firearm; or (2) otherwise entitled to carry a concealed firearm in their state of residence.

H.R. 1684 - Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act
This bill allows, except as provided under federal criminal law relating to the possession of firearms and other dangerous weapons in federal facilities, a person to possess, carry, and transport concealed, loaded, and operable firearms within a national park area or national wildlife refuge area in accordance with the laws of the state in which such area is located.

H.R. 2153 - Second Amendment Restoration Act
This bill amends the federal criminal code to revise the definition of "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" for purposes of allowing states to determine the eligibility of individuals convicted of minor crimes to ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.