Second Amendment
Since March 4, 1789, our Constitution has defined the powers of our federal government and bound the United States together. Ratified shortly thereafter, as ten amendments to the Constitution in 1791, the Bill of Rights reflects the genius of the American founders to safeguard liberty and guarantee the rights we hold dear as Americans.
Defending our constitutional rights is our fundamental duty and special privilege as Americans.
Recent acts of senseless violence have reignited debate over the best way to protect our communities, and Americans are understandably outraged and concerned. The shootings at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX, at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY, and other devastating and unacceptable acts of violence across the country are heartbreaking.
Our nation's law enforcement officers work every day to keep our communities safe. We owe it to these brave individuals to provide them with the resources necessary to do their jobs both safely and securely across America. I stand with our law enforcement officers and thank them for putting their lives on the line.
Our Constitution's framers affirmed our right to bear arms through the Second Amendment for an important reason; to provide Americans with means of protection and self-defense. This week Democrats brought to the House floor two bills they claim would protect safety by restricting gun ownership.
At the end of November, Nebraska closed another successful deer hunting season. While hunting is a great benefit of our constitutional right to bear arms, it is not the primary reason our founders chose to specifically enumerate this protection in our Bill of Rights. Nationwide our Second Amendment rights continue to be under threat.
In the Bill of Rights, our constitutional right to bear arms is listed second, after our First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, and religion. I like to think this ranking is intentional. Firearms are used for protection, self-defense, crime deterrence, hunting, and in many cases, are a way of life.
This week, House Democrats proposed two bills under the guise of curtailing gun violence. In reality the bills amount to a fundamental erosion of our Second Amendment rights, which should never be allowed. In Nebraska, the need for firearms is the same today as it was when the Second Amendment was enacted - before we were even a territory of the United States.
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution reads, “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.” For me, what the Founders provided in these words is clear: the American people have the right to arm themselves and no law or government shall ever deprive us of this right.