U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- The 117th Congress gaveled into session on Jan. 3 and among the new faces in the U.S. House of Representatives are dozens of firearm-friendly freshmen. It’s the most diverse Republican freshmen class ever and includes military veterans, minorities, and a historic tally of women.
The GOP freshman class, outnumbering Democrats by a three-to-one margin, arrived at Capitol Hill at the same time America is watching the face of gun ownership change. A record 21 million firearm purchases were made in 2020. That includes 8.4 million people who bought a gun for the first time last year. By all counts, the image of who is buying guns no longer fits dated caricatures. Forty percent of 2020’s gun buyers are women. African American gun buyers grew 58 percent over 2019.
The threats to Second Amendment rights are real and the new Members of Congress have staked out their position to defend those rights.
Taking the Oath
Six Second Amendment-supporting freshman members hail from Texas, including Navy veterans U.S. Reps. Tony Gonzalez and Ronny Jackson and former Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls. Former Irving, Texas Mayor Beth Van Duyne was sworn in, campaigning on a message of firearm ownership and personal security for women and calling out the “defund the police” movement that puts lives at risk. Rep. Pete Sessions regained a congressional seat and former Texas state legislator Pat Fallon was also elected – both hold strong, well-known records on gun rights.
California sent five new members to Congress and all are stalwarts on the Second Amendment. Reps. Michelle Steel and Young Kim are the first two Korean-American Members of Congress and each back firearm rights. Congressman Jay Olbernolt, who was a state legislator, previously criticized California infringements on the Second Amendment, saying “I know what the solutions aren’t. The last thing we ought to be doing is taking the arms out of the hands of our concerned citizens who know how to use them properly.” Rejoining Congress are Reps. Darrell Issa and David Valadao, each with gun rights records.
Florida added Congressman Byron Donalds, a former state legislator. He said, “In Congress, you can expect me to defend your Constitutional rights, no matter the cost. Shall not be infringed, means Shall not be infringed!”
Congresswoman Kat Cammack, herself a Florida concealed carry permit holder, agreed, saying “I will always uphold and defend our Second Amendment rights. As a concealed carry permit holder and the wife of a first responder, I am adamant about protecting this most basic American right. This issue is personal to me and my family.”
U.S. Reps. Scott Franklin, Maria Elvira Salazar, and Carlos Gimenez also join the ranks from the Sunshine State.
In South Carolina, gun rights supporter Rep. Nancy Mace, the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, took back a congressional seat from a gun control congressman. Congressman Andrew Clyde will represent his Georgia district, bringing his experience as a firearm business owner and former Navy officer along with Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has been vocal on her gun rights positions.
Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has a well-known reputation as a Second Amendment supporter and already made a splash for gun rights by forcing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to cave on implementing new gun control rules in the House of Representatives.
The great news for gun owners and Second Amendment supporters across the country is that there are dozens of more new members who will also be allies in Congress. They’ll be needed as the threats to the firearm industry and gun owners are expected to grow.
The Stakes Ahead
President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris won’t be slowed. The most anti-gun presidential ticket in history is ready to move on several gun control proposals, including plans to confiscate and ban modern sporting rifles, impose red flag laws that deny due process, suffocate firearm small businesses through regulation, and above all, eliminate the firearm industry by repealing the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA).
NSSF is already forging relationships with these Members of Congress, showing them the importance of the industry to their states, districts, and the rights of the citizens they represent.
About The National Shooting Sports Foundation
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect, and preserve hunting and shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearm retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations, and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org
Is this a joke? Another NSSF happy meal for chumps. Kevin McCarthy was Ryan & Boehner’s waterboy, a streetwalker for the “US” Chamber, “cheap labor” & 1-way “free trade”, all of which are destroying gun rights. And he’s coup collaborator. When will conservatives and gun owners WAKE UP?
If you thought it was bad under Obama, you haven’t seen anything yet. You are fixing to see massive changes in executive branch agencies that have anything to do with weapons. You will be seeing gun rights legislation one would think was written by China or Australia or Britain that will have no trouble being approved by the House and Senate and signed by Joe Biden the CCP puppet. China cannot take over if the American citizens are armed. And do not think you can depend on the military. The top echelon is still staffed with Obama appointments. The entire… Read more »
If you want to hear what it is really like to come in to Congress with grand ideas of defending liberty go to “Free the People” and listen to Rep. Thomas Massie’s great video on liberty and service in Congress. Very enlightening from a very smart guy. Here is a thought experiment I did at a gun club about 10 years ago during dark times: Ask all of the registered Republicans in the room to raise their right hand. Now, tell them to keep their hands in the air and then ask all who depend upon the Republican Party to… Read more »
This is all fine and good, but the reality is that the Dems have control and majority all three parts of the government.
There will be no gun-rights,
There will be no fair and free elections,
There will be no free speech, right to assemble, or any other of original Constitutional rights of our Founders, or nothing of our original history.
And there is no one or nothing to stop it now.
Those are the facts.
Das Willkommen to the Peoples Republic of Amerika
Everybody should now understand, after yesterday, that none of this matters anymore. The only preservation of 2A from this point forward is by its judicious use in a proactive manner against the proper targets.
So what?! Congress proved yesterday that they could give a sh*t about the peasants. We are nothing but tax revenue generators to them to pay for their lavish lifestyle. America, as our Founding Fathers intended, is dead!
Dress Up Your House With Brand New Deck Chairs!
Praise Kevin McCarthy, coup collaborator and “cheap labor” RINO?
The only way to get our country back is to vote out all the incumbents.
it’s the only way to assure the RINO Swamp dwellers are gone. The Oath means nothing to them.
Not much they can do, they’re outnumbered.