H.R.8 Passed the House on February 27, 2019
BILL TITLE: Bipartisan Background Checks Act
Click here for the roll call vote
March 1, 2019 - On Wednesday, Congressman Tom McClintock adressed the House floor on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act.
House floor remarks by Congressman Tom McClintock:
H.R. 8
Mr. Speaker:
H.R. 8 is brought to us by the same organizations and politicians who have made no secret of their intention ultimately to strip law-abiding citizens of their right to defend themselves. They know they can’t do it outright, so they do it through cynical measures like this, which weave a web of laws so intricate that sooner or later everyone can be caught up in them. This law affects not only a transfer of ownership – it affects ANY transfer of a weapon for ANY period of time.
• Suppose you have a gun collection and hand one of them to a friend to look at;
• Or, you exchange shotguns with a friend on a hunt and then separate for any period of time;
• Or, you loan a gun to your next-door neighbor of 20 years who is being victimized by a stalker;
• Or you give a gun to your stepson or your great grandson.
Under any of these innocent scenarios – and countless more – you are guilty of a federal crime. These flaws were all pointed out to the bill’s supporters and none were addressed. Why not? The reason should be obvious.
Last October, a ten-year study by Johns Hopkins and U.C. Davis concluded that California’s background check law had no effect on gun homicides or suicides. None. The purpose of this bill is not public safety. That’s a deceptive facade.
Its true purpose is to make gun ownership so legally hazardous, so fraught with legal booby-traps and draconian penalties, that no honest and law-abiding citizen would ever want to take the risk.
Most criminals already get their guns illegally and are unconstrained by laws like this. Make no mistake: this is aimed squarely at law-abiding citizens, moving us closer to a society where decent people are defenseless and armed criminals are kings.
Source: Congressman Tom McClintock
