On the recordMarch 9, 2021
As a Federally licensed gun store owner, I have a unique perspective on our Second Amendment rights, and I actually happen to know how background checks actually work. It seems that H.R. 8 is being sold as universal background checks, and it would impose harsh penalties, like six-figure fines and jail time, for the simple act of handing a firearm to another person even for temporary use, like instruction. The exemptions under H.R. 8 are woefully inadequate to protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners. Let's say, Mr. Speaker, that you loan your firearm to a victim of domestic violence because their abuser is just getting ready to be released from jail, or if a suicidal friend asks you to take possession of their firearm, or if you loan your cousin a gun after a series of burglaries in their neighborhood. These new transfer penalties would turn law-abiding citizens into criminals. We simply cannot sacrifice our rights by passing laws that will make our families less safe and laws that criminals will simply ignore. We must always protect and preserve our God-given Second Amendment rights.
