JUST IN: Thomas Massie Issues Effusive Defense Of The Second Amendment Before The Senate

[0:00] opening statement. Thank you, Chairman Paul and ranking member Peters for allowing me to speak to [0:05] the upper chamber here today. I'm very passionate about this issue of the right to keep and bear [0:11] arms. I got my first firearm when I was 12 years old from my father and with that I learned the [0:17] responsibility and the rights that come with owning a firearm. I formed the Second Amendment [0:24] caucus about a decade ago and have been using that venue to bring in people like Alan Gera, [0:31] the lawyer who was responsible for arguing the Heller case and also the McDonald case and he won [0:37] both of those cases in the Supreme Court. In fact, we've had Dick Heller in our caucus and we've had [0:43] some of those brave men who have stopped mass public shootings and it's been a great venue for [0:49] teaching myself and others more about the Second Amendment. In keeping with the committee's [0:55] requests, I've prepared a speech but I'll only deliver part of that and then with your indulgence [1:00] I'd like to talk about some legislation that I think is important that's sitting in the House. [1:06] The simple and direct language of our Constitution is clear. The right of the people to keep and bear [1:11] arms shall not be infringed. There are no qualifiers on who may keep arms, what types of arms they may [1:17] keep or for what purposes. And it certainly doesn't say that the right to bear arms is about trivial [1:23] matters like deer hunting or skeet shooting. The Second Amendment exists for one clear reason, [1:28] defense. For the defense of one's home, one's family, and one's community. For the defense of [1:35] liberty and safety, not only from a lone assailant but from the whole of tyrannical government. That is why [1:41] we have the Second Amendment. Our founders understood the greatest risks to liberty are not always found [1:47] outside a nation's borders, even though we go looking for fights abroad sometimes too frequently. [1:53] But oftentimes from within, when a corrupt and dangerous few grow too ambitious and attempt to [1:58] subjugate the masses. And when such tyranny arises, snakes prefer the path of least resistance. They [2:06] prefer a population that is vulnerable. And as George Mason reminded us in 1788, to disarm the people is the [2:14] best and most effectual way to enslave them. History is riddled with oppressive states that stripped [2:20] and abused their own people to keep riches for the assaulting cabal. And in every instance, before those [2:27] snakes bit, they first took away the guns. Whether it was Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Castro, or Chavez. Gun [2:34] confiscations and restrictions came first. Then the infringement of all the other liberties. And in many cases, [2:41] millions were killed by their own governments. It's not by the grace that America has averted [2:47] similar atrocities. It's because of our Constitution's design. As Madison wrote in Federalist 46, [2:53] the advantage of being armed with the Americans possessed over the people of almost every other [3:02] nation forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, a barrier against tyranny and oppression [3:08] by a ruling class. To this point, I think it's incumbent upon us to advance legislation that will protect [3:16] the Second Amendment here. We've sworn an oath to the Constitution to protect it from enemies from [3:23] within and abroad. Four pieces of legislation that I've sponsored in the House that I want to talk about [3:29] today. One is to repeal the Gun-Free School Zone Act. Ninety-four percent of mass public shootings [3:37] happen in gun-free zones. And so we shouldn't be advertising as the default that our children are [3:43] sitting ducks that are unprotected. In the states and school zones where they have allowed the carrying [3:50] of firearms, there have been no such catastrophes. The other bill that's easy to explain is a bill to allow [3:58] 18 to 21-year-olds to buy handguns from a federally licensed dealer. I think it's somewhat ridiculous [4:06] that you can be conscripted to serve your country in a war. You can be 18, 19, or 20 and forced into [4:13] service to fight for your country, but you can't defend your own family with a handgun that you bought [4:18] at a licensed dealer. So we should repeal this federal restriction. A piece of legislation that's coming up in [4:26] the House next month, which I think is very important, is to report some of the data that we collect in the [4:32] NICS database. When you go to buy a gun, you fill out a form 4473. It's that gold form. And they collect [4:39] data on there that they never report. And what we've discovered through my friend John Lott, who's an [4:45] economist and a statistician and an author, is that there's inherent racism in the NICS background check [4:51] system. Because it's sloppy and they check only phonetically similar names, when you go to purchase [4:58] a gun, you can be deprived of purchasing that gun. And the appeals process can get messy to prove you're [5:03] not the same person that they think is the person who's prohibited. It turns out, if you're a black [5:10] American or Hispanic, you're far more likely to share a name phonetically with somebody who's a prohibited [5:17] person who's been convicted of a crime of a year that has a punishment of a year or more. In fact, [5:23] you're probably twice as likely, if you're Hispanic, to be falsely denied the purchase of a handgun. And [5:28] three times as likely, if you're black, to be denied the purchase of a gun at a dealership, at a dealer. So [5:36] this bill that's coming up in the House would just, and by the way, it's passed unanimously in our [5:43] Judiciary Committee, Democrats and Republicans have both voted for it, simply requires the DOJ to [5:48] publish that data, not of individuals, but in the aggregate of the denials by sex and also by race or [5:56] ethnicity. Finally, the bill that I'm most excited about is the National Constitutional Carry Act. And [6:02] Senator Lee has that here in the Senate now. And some of you are sponsors of that. I thank you. [6:08] Thank you. Several years ago, there was legislation advanced to force reciprocity among the states for [6:16] concealed carry permits. Now, that made sense at the time, because in most of the states, you needed [6:21] a permit to carry a firearm. But 29 states now recognize that the right to keep and bear arms should [6:29] not require permission from your government to bear those arms. And so they have permitless carry. [6:36] I've advanced a bill, the National Constitutional Carry Act, that would extend that to all 50 states and [6:41] the territories. Now, you may ask, well, does that violate the 10th Amendment? Are you infringing on [6:47] state rights? Well, thanks to the McDonald case in 2010, which came two years after the Heller case. See, [6:55] Heller was decided in D.C., so it didn't impinge on the states. But the McDonald case versus Chicago [7:03] incorporated the Second Amendment to the states. So the states are constrained by the Second Amendment. [7:08] So no, it does not violate the 10th Amendment to tell the states that you must follow the right to [7:13] keep and bear arms in the Second Amendment. So I'd love to see some action on that here in the Senate. [7:21] With that, I'll return to my prepared remarks and close. When we look to our Constitution, remember, [7:28] it's a document by our people for the purpose of constraining our government, not the other way [7:35] around. The Second Amendment is the ultimate check on our government. Any attack on those core tenants, [7:40] whether it's the Second Amendment, the First Amendment, or the Fourth Amendment, or any other [7:46] provision of our Constitution, is dangerous and wrong. And one does not need to look too far back in [7:51] history to find examples of why. And I'll close with these words from Patrick Henry. [7:58] Guard with jealous attention to public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches the jewel. [8:04] The great object is that every man be armed. Thank you very much for allowing me to testify today. [8:10] Congressman Massey, thank you for your statements.