I am a strong believer in the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States.  It protects law-abiding citizens from the government’s infringement on our right to keep and bear arms.  The Founding Fathers felt this right was important enough to make it part of the Bill of Rights, and held that the right to keep and bear arms was the personal and fundamental right of all citizens.

As part of my efforts to protect our Second Amendment rights, I have worked to:

• Uphold the heritage of sport shooting and recreational shooting.

I voted for H.R. 4089, the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012, a bill which will protect and strengthen opportunities for recreational hunting and shooting. This bill prevents federal agencies from imposing unnecessary regulations on law abiding sportsmen and sportswomen by:

Opening federal lands to recreational shooting,

Promoting hunting and fishing on federal land, and

Removing unfair federal regulations on the importation of legally hunted trophies.

 H.R. 4089 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 274 to 146.

• Lead the fight in congress to protect the Second Amendment Right to keep and bear arms and U.S. Interests from UN Arms Trade Treaty.

I authored a bipartisan letter to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton signed by 130 members of the House of Representatives expressing concerns regarding the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) being negotiated by the UN.  The letter warns the Administration against signing any treaty that would reduce our Second Amendment rights, weaken our domestic defense industrial base, facilitate the arming of terrorists, or make it more difficult for us to defend close allies such as Israel and Taiwan.

• Support NRA prize-winning local business Cabot Guns.

I delivered a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives in support of Cabot Guns, in Cabot, PA.  Cabot Guns won the National Rifle Association’s Pistol Championship in its first year of competition at the Camp Perry, the “World Series” of competitive pistol shooting.

• Support the right of lawful gun owners to protect themselves while traveling out of state.

 I co-sponsored and voted for H.R. 822, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011. This bill protects the rights of millions of gun owners by requiring states to recognize each others’ concealed firearms permits, just as states recognize each other’s drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards.  H.R. 822 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 272 to 154.