On the recordJune 2, 2015
I am proud to stand with my colleague from North Carolina in support of this amendment. In the eyes of our Founding Fathers, the right to bear arms was just as fundamental as the freedom of speech. The Second Amendment ensures our right, as law- abiding American citizens, to bear arms to protect ourselves from enemies, both foreign and domestic. It is no secret that our Second Amendment rights have been threatened by the government bureaucrats in the Obama administration. Earlier this year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives doubled down on attempting to ban lead projectiles, as they claim the ammunition is armor piercing. They proposed a ban on the manufacturing and sale of certain AR-15 ammunition that could have drastically reduced the availability of ammunition commonly used for sporting and other legitimate purposes. Because of the strong objections from gunowners and constitutional conservatives across the country, ATF decided to table their proposal, at least for now. Mr. Chairman, our constitutional rights should not be left up to the whims of Federal bureaucrats in Washington. This amendment simply ensures that Federal funds cannot be used to ban certain types of commonly used ammunition, and I encourage my colleagues to support it.
