Debbie Lesko: “I thank the gentleman, Mr. Jordan, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill. H.R. 8 is an assault on…”

“I thank the gentleman, Mr. Jordan, for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill. H.R. 8 is an assault on our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The bill turns law-abiding citizens into criminals by subjecting them to criminal penalties for simply lending a friend or a neighbor a gun on a temporary basis. Additionally, the bill would inevitably lead to a national gun registry because, without a registry, the government has no way to implement this legislation. This bill is certainly a slippery slope. Most alarmingly, this bill does nothing, absolutely nothing, to stop criminals from obtaining firearms. According to the Department of Justice, less than 1 percent of criminals in prison who possessed a firearm during their offense obtained the firearm from a licensed dealer, meaning criminals would still have access to firearms under this law. Mr. Speaker, this bill is just the first of many steps to take away our Second Amendment rights. I urge my colleagues to vote against this bill.”