Mark Souder: “I thank Mr. Smith for his leadership on this motion to recommit and his long-standing leadership in the Judiciary…”

“I thank Mr. Smith for his leadership on this motion to recommit and his long-standing leadership in the Judiciary Committee, and for including the Personal Protection Act in our motion to recommit. This has been passed by the House in two different forms, in the appropriations bill and as a free-standing bill. It is the first clear gun control vote, and possibly the only one we will have this year. It is a matter of whether you believe the District of Columbia should have the second amendment. We can dispute what the Constitution says in other areas, but clearly the Constitution says that people have the right to own and bear arms for self-protection. This legislation has been upheld now, in terms of homes, by the D.C. District Court, but it is only a district court ruling. This would codify it, make it clear that there are not second-class citizens on this second amendment. D.C., while it has had a decline in the homicide rate, it is less than the rest of the country, it has led the country repeatedly. It is five times the national average in murders, in spite of having the most stringent gun control law that restricts the right to bear arms. Up until the D.C. court ruling, for a gun in your home you had to have it locked, disassembled, with a key in another location, without the bullets in it. And when a criminal came into your house, you would have to go find the key for the cabinet, put your gun together, go find a bullet to protect yourself.”