Congressman Jody Hice was born in Atlanta and raised in Tucker, Georgia. Representative Hice graduated from Asbury University, earned his Master’s degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as a Doctor of Ministry from Luther Rice College and Seminary. Congressman Hice served as pastor in three Georgia counties for almost 25 years, and went on to launch the Jody Hice Show, a conservative talk radio program. Congressman Hice and his wife of over thirty years, Dee Dee, reside in Oglethorpe County and have two daughters and four grandchildren. Congressman Hice took office in 2015 as the Representative of Georgia’s 10th Congressional District and serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Reform and the House Natural Resources Committee. For the 117th Congress, he serves as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Government Operations for the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
First and foremost, the Second Amendment is an individual’s right to keep and bear arms. As a proud member of the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America, an avid hunter, and an owner of a Georgia Weapons Carry License, Congressman Hice is committed to being a staunch defender of these constitutionally protected rights for law-abiding citizens in Congress.
Despite the fact that the Second Amendment is an individual right, there are too many impediments within the federal government that jeopardize these rights. For example, Congressman Hice has introduced the Fairness in Firearms Testing Act to address the egregious lack of uniformity in testing procedures of firearms by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Due to the lack of any clearly defined testing requirements by ATF, American gun manufacturers are being punished unfairly and consumers are disadvantaged. His bill would force the ATF to make video recordings of their testing procedures for firearms and ammunition and make this video available to American firearm manufacturers that have submitted a firearm for testing.
In the 114th Congress, Representative Hice introduced the Military Recruiters Right to Carry Act in the wake of the tragedy that occurred at two military recruiting centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee on July 16, 2015 that resulted in the death of four Marines and one Navy sailor. His bill would permit members of the Armed Forces assigned to duty at recruitment offices to carry a firearm while at their post, particularly since many of our recruitment offices are often located in unsecured commercial buildings. These brave servicemen and women should not have to worry about their safety.
Congressman Hice has also cosponsored many pro-Second Amendment bills introduced by his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives. He supports legislation that would allow individuals with concealed carry permits from their home state to exercise those rights in any other state; legislation to push back against controversial policies from the Obama Administration to ban certain types of ammunition; legislation to prohibit the federal government from requiring race or ethnicity to be disclosed in order to purchase firearms; legislation ensuring that the federal government does not make suppressors more difficult to obtain than a rifle; legislation that would invalidate and defund any infringements on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights; and many others.