House Judiciary Democrats Approve Unconstitutional Gun Control Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Judiciary Committee considered H.R. 8, a gun control bill championed by the Democrats of the Committee. Throughout the day, Republicans offered dozens of amendments, seeking to restore constitutional protections to the legislation. Democrats opposed allowing a person who is suicidal or a potential danger to others from giving their gun to someone in order to prevent violence. They also opposed allowing victims of domestic violence, who have orders of protection, from receiving a gun to protect themselves. Democrats opposed notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement if an illegal alien attempted to purchase a gun illegally. All of these amendments – and others offered – would have protected Americans from gun violence. The Democrats consistently voted against these thoughtful proposals. This evening, Chairman Jerry Nadler abruptly ended debate on the bill with dozens of amendments still waiting to be heard. Congressman Biggs, a member of the committee, released the following statement:

"House Judiciary Democrats attempted to ram an unconstitutional gun control bill through this committee. They heard as many amendments as deemed politically feasible to give the appearance that they were allowing all voices to be heard. However, as we made progress, Chairman Nadler cut off debate and sent the legislation to the House floor. Four of my five amendments were not even considered. This obstruction is wrong and runs afoul of the majority's stated goals of transparency.

"The American people do not support federally overreaching gun control laws. Both sides want to save lives from gun violence, but H.R. 8 is not the solution. The bill hurts law-abiding citizens, and I will continue to oppose this legislation."

Congressman Andy Biggs is a second-term Representative from Arizona's Fifth Congressional District, representing parts of Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, and Queen Creek. Congressman Biggs is a member of the House Judiciary and Science, Space, and Technology committees. He lives with his wife, Cindy, in Gilbert.