Second Amendment Plan

For more than 200 years, sportsmen, hunters, and lawful gun owners have embraced our Second Amendment rights, which we all share as Americans. When the Founding Fathers were writing the Bill of Rights, they specifically included the Second Amendment to ensure that every American had “the right… to keep and bear Arms.” They went on to affirm that this right “shall not be infringed.”

One of my top priorities has been to preserve and uphold this sacred right for law-abiding citizens. In 2021, I led an amicus brief co-signed by 175 of my colleagues urging the Supreme Court to rule in NYSRPA v. Bruen that New York’s concealed carry law was unconstitutional. In 2022, the Supreme Court agreed with my arguments and struck down New York’s restrictive concealed carry law, and Justice Clarence Thomas even cited our brief in his decision. NYSRPA v. Bruen was the most significant Second Amendment win in over a decade, and it represents a major step in restoring our Founders’ vision for our Constitutional freedoms. During my time in the New York State Assembly, I opposed the onerous NY SAFE Act and was the first to introduce formal legislation to repeal this law that infringed on the rights of all law-abiding gun owners. In Congress, I have continued to fight against Congressional Democrats’ and the Hochul administration’s attempts to criminalize legal gun ownership and violate our Constitutional rights.

As a Constitutional Conservative, I find it imperative that Americans continue to have the right to protect themselves under the Second Amendment. That is why I have cosponsored many bills, such as the National Constitutional Carry Act and the Protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Act, to ensure American citizens’ Second Amendment right to carry is protected and not infringed. Additionally, I cosponsored and voted to pass H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act, prohibiting payment card networks from creating a new Merchant Category Code (MCC) exclusively for firearm retailers, which would infringe on law-abiding citizens’ privacy rights. Further, I joined an amicus brief led by Rep. Russell Fry in defense of the National Shooting Sports Foundation in its case against New York Attorney General Letitia James to make sure New York cannot keep attacking our Second Amendment rights.

I will continue to pursue efforts to prevent any infringement of our Second Amendment rights through regulations that criminalize law-abiding citizens rather than keeping our communities safe. I will continue to oppose efforts by Democrats in Albany and Washington to chip away at our Constitutional rights and regulate gun ownership out of existence, and I plan to build upon existing efforts to safeguard our Second Amendment rights for generations of Americans to come.

Combating Governor Hochul’s Anti-Second Amendment Agenda

• Introduced H.R. 373, the SAGA Act: This bill prohibits states from further restricting the right to buy rifles and shotguns beyond federal restrictions. This would eliminate New York State’s radical anti-2A laws that make it more difficult and burdensome for consumers to choose the firearm that best suits their needs and preferences. Just recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit struck down a similar law in New Jersey in Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Attorney General of New Jersey. This case lays the groundwork to finally overturn the NY SAFE Act.
• Led a Letter to the Department of Justice Regarding New York’s Second Amendment Infringement: I led a letter alongside Congresswoman Stefanik to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi asking her to review New York State’s anti-Second Amendment laws and uphold the Constitutional rights of New Yorkers to keep and bear arms. Under Governor Hochul’s tyrannical regime, New Yorkers have seen more infringements on our rights than ever, with the Concealed Carry Improvement Act being only the latest example. We must do more at the federal level to combat New York State’s continued efforts to trample on our rights.
• Cosponsored H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act: This bill would ensure that anyone eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may do so in any other state that allows concealed carry. Currently, New York does not grant reciprocity to any other state. This bill would ensure New York residents maintain their concealed carry rights in every other state that allows concealed carry, and law-abiding visitors from other states would retain their concealed carry rights while traveling to New York.
• Cosponsored H.R. 7678, the GRIP Act: This legislation prohibits states and localities from using federal funding to store sensitive, personal information obtained during a federal background check. Under current law, the federal government cannot retaininformation obtained during the firearms background check process. The GRIP Act would ensure the federal government does not support any efforts by New York State to collect and store personally identifiable information related to legal firearm purchases and ownership. Gun owners should not have to permanently sacrifice their privacy or risk identity theft simply for exercising their Second Amendment Constitutional right.
• Cosponsored H.R. 2442, the Freedom from Unfair Gun Taxes Act: This bill would prohibit states from levying any additional excise taxes on firearms or ammunition. Excise taxes are frequently levied on goods like cigarettes or alcohol; however, states should not be levying additional financial burdens on law-abiding gun owners. California has already imposed an additional 11% excise tax on firearms and ammunition, and New York could soon follow.

Protecting Privacy and Due Process for Gun Owners

• Cosponsored H.R. 563, the No REGISTRY Rights Act: This bill prevents the federal government from building a federal firearms registry by requiring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to delete all existing firearm transaction records accumulated by the ATF. The bill would also require Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) to destroy their firearm transaction records once they go out of business, preventing the ATF from accumulating those records. The ATF has no business maintaining a digital, searchable database of law-abiding gun owners that could be used for future gun confiscation.
• Cosponsored H.R. 2184, the Firearm Due Process Protection Act: In 2018, Congress passed the Fix NICS Act, which allows individuals to appeal if information in the NICS system is incorrect. However, this process did not permit a private right of action to enforce this requirement, allowing the FBI to let appeals linger indefinitely. This bill allows individuals to seek court orders to correct false information in the NICS system if the FBI fails to act within the statutory two-month window.
• Cosponsored H.R. 2039, the Protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Act: This commonsense bill prohibits a future President or Secretary of Health and Human Services from erroneously declaring a national emergency to impose gun control regulations. While President Trump and Secretary Kennedy are both strong supporters of the Second Amendment, a future Democrat administration would not hesitate to abuse their power to unconstitutionally impose gun control laws on law-abiding Americans. This bill will preemptively ensure this cannot happen and prevent future abuses of power.
• Cosponsored H.R. 9298, the Stopping Harmful and Outrageous Torts (SHOT) Act: This bill provides much-needed improvements to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to protect against frivolous lawsuits targeting firearm, ammunition, and component part manufacturers for the criminal misuse of their legally sold products. The bill would ensure that U.S. firearm, ammunition, and componentpart manufacturers can continue to serve our nation’s warfighters, law enforcement, and law-abiding Americans.

Ensuring Access for Law-Abiding Gun Owners

• Introduced H.R. 4064, the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act: This legislation modifies federal bankruptcy law to allow an individual debtor to exempt one or more firearms from their bankruptcy estate up to a total maximum value of $3,000. No American should ever have to sacrifice their Constitutional rights because of their financial situation. The Second Amendment is a Constitutional right for all Americans, including those experiencing financial hardship. I am honored to lead this important legislation that protects the rights of gun owners everywhere, regardless of their financial circumstances.
• Cosponsored H.R. 2930, the PROTECT the 2nd Amendment Act: This legislation ensures that residents living in federally assisted housing may lawfully possess firearms. This commonsense legislation would ensure that landlords and rental property managers receiving federal funds and vouchers cannot restrict their tenants’ Constitutional rights. The federal government should always stand in favor of individuals’ Second Amendment rights, and allowing federally assisted housing providers to restrict this right is unconscionable.
• Cosponsored H.R. 3033, the Protecting the Mailing of Firearms Act: Despite the U.S.Postal Service’s (USPS) ability to ship long guns, current law prohibits USPS from shipping handguns, even though common carriers like FedEx and UPS can do so. This antiquated law dates back to the early 1900s and is long overdue for repeal. This bill would simply repeal this law and prohibit the Postmaster General from implementing any rule that would interfere with USPS’ ability to ship handguns.
• Cosponsored H.R. 1041, the Veterans 2nd Amendment Protection Act: This bill prohibits the Department of Veterans Affairs from reporting a veteran as mentally incompetent to own a firearm simply for using a fiduciary to manage their VA benefits. The VA should never be weaponized against those who served our country, and needingassistance to navigate the VA bureaucracy should not prevent a veteran from exercising the very rights they fought to protect while serving our country. I have consistently supported provisions in the annual appropriations bill that prevent the VA from taking such draconian action and will continue working to make this law permanent.
• Cosponsored H.R. 645, the National Constitutional Carry Act: This bill allows any law-abiding U.S. citizen who is legally eligible to possess a firearm under federal and state law to carry a firearm in public without the need to obtain a state-issued permit. Specifically, it invalidates any state or local statutes or regulations that impose criminal penalties or barriers on public carrying. The legislation still allows property owners or businesses to ban firearms on their premises and restrict the carrying of firearms in locations equipped with security or firearm-screening measures. This bill would protect our Second Amendment rights to bear arms and ensure law-abiding citizens can exercise their right to self-defense.

Your views are always important to me. Please write to me on my website or call my office at 202-225-3665 with feedback, questions, or concerns.