Gun Policy & Second Amendment
What I Believe
Law-abiding citizens have the right to own guns safely.
The Problem: Criminal Access and Policy Gridlock
Gun violence rises while political extremes block reasonable solutions. Criminal access to firearms is often easier than enforcement, and the system fails to effectively prevent weapons from entering the hands of those prohibited due to serious criminal history or adjudicated mental instability, creating unnecessary danger for the public.
What I'll Do - The Responsible Gun Ownership and Enforcement Act - RGOEA
- Federal Enforcement and Anti-Trafficking Task Forces: Establish permanent, well-funded federal task forces dedicated solely to investigating and prosecuting illegal gun trafficking, straw purchases, and the movement of stolen firearms across state lines. Increase mandatory minimum sentencing for individuals caught engaging in gun running and violent crime committed with a firearm.
- Modernized Background Check System with Mental Health Safeguards: Strengthen the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) by mandating comprehensive, federally standard background checks for all commercial gun sales, including those conducted online or at gun shows. Simultaneously, improve and standardize the process for including adjudicated mental health prohibitions into the NICS, ensuring due process while keeping weapons out of the hands of the dangerously unstable.
- Support for Safety, Training, and Storage: Provide federal tax credits and state matching grants to incentivize voluntary gun safety courses, safe storage devices (e.g., smart safes), and responsible gun ownership education. This policy maintains the right to own while promoting a culture of safety.
- Upholding Second Amendment Protections: Explicitly prohibit any federal action to confiscate legally owned firearms, ban common types of sporting rifles, or create a national registry of law-abiding gun owners. The focus is exclusively on criminal misuse and ensuring the rights of responsible citizens are protected.
Why It Matters
This issue is not about banning lawful ownership; it’s about criminal misuse. By creating specialized federal task forces to aggressively prosecute illegal gun trafficking and modernizing background checks, we can protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens while making it nearly impossible for criminals and the dangerously unstable to acquire firearms.