Congresswoman Tenney Highlights Plan to Protect Americans’ Second Amendment Rights

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22) today highlighted her plan to protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights. The plan includes legislation Tenney supports in Congress, as well as actions she has taken, to ensure the protection of the Second Amendment. It focuses on several pillars: (1) Safeguarding Our Constitutional Rights; (2) Protecting the Privacy of Americans; (3) Enforcing Our Laws and Targeting Criminals; and (4) Protecting the Safety and Security of all Americans.

The Second Amendment has come under attack in recent months and years by far-left activists. In 2013, when disgraced former Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo signed the SAFE Act in the dark of night, Tenney stood up with law enforcement, sportsmen, and Second Amendment advocates to call out this infringement on Second Amendment rights. Tenney also was the first member of the New York State Assembly to introduce legislation to repeal the SAFE Act.

Last year, Tenney led an amicus brief with 175 of her House Republican colleagues, supporting the overturning of New York’s arbitrary concealed carry laws. Recently, Tenney released an edition of her Setting the Record Straight series, where she debunked common lies surrounding laws passed in New York in response to the Supreme Court decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen.

Tenney’s full plan is available on her website here or below.

Safeguarding Our Constitutional Rights

• Led Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court in NYSRPA v. Bruen: For decades, and in violation of the precedent under DC vs. Heller, New York’s Sullivan Law unconstitutionally prevented many law-abiding New Yorkers from carrying their firearms outside of the home. I am honored to have led a congressional Amicus Brief to the Supreme Court with more than 170 of my House colleagues in support of the Supreme Court overturning New York’s unconstitutional law. Thankfully, we prevailed, and New York’s law was struck down, marking a significant victory for our Second Amendment.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act: This bill will ensure anyone who is eligible to carry a concealed firearm in one state may possess it in another state that allows its residents to carry concealed firearms. Our Second Amendment rights do not stop at state lines, and law-abiding Americans who are licensed and have the right to protect themselves in one state should be able to do so in another.
   
• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 1787, the Ensuring Second Amendment Freedoms are Executed Timely Act: This legislation prohibits the federal government from delaying law-abiding gun owners from purchasing a firearm. It changes the wait period after a federal firearm dealer contacts the National Instant Criminal Background Check System from three state government business days to three calendar days.
   
• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 7493, the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act of 2022: Americans should not lose their ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights just because they fall on hard times. This legislation will modify federal bankruptcy law so a debtor can exempt one or more firearms up to a value of $3,000. It also specifies that these firearms are household goods not subject to liens in bankruptcy.
   
• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 1715, the Second Amendment Guarantee Act: I joined with many of our New York Members of Congress to introduce this legislation to ensure state and local governments cannot more strictly regulate rifles or shotguns than federal law. This will void the unconstitutional SAFE Act, allowing law-abiding New Yorkers to freely practice their Second Amendment rights.
   
• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 4060, the Second Amendment is Essential Act: I joined with my colleagues to introduce this legislation to ensure workers in the firearms industry are classified as essential. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, many blue states shut down gun stores and manufacturers, putting thousands of New Yorkers out of work and shuttering gun stores. This bill will finally prevent states from using emergencies to restrict law-abiding Americans’ ability to legally purchase firearms.

Protecting the Privacy of Americans

• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 1827, the Gun Owner Registration Information Protection Act: I joined with my colleagues to introduce this legislation to prohibit states and localities from using federal funding to create and maintain gun registries. With left-wing activists pushing for publicly accessible firearms databases, it is important that we protect the privacy of those who chose to exercise their constitutional rights.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 3820, the Firearm Process Protection Act: This legislation allows Americans to seek a judicial remedy if they experience a delay of more than 60 days with a firearm transfer. If the government has concerns with such a transfer, it must present clear and convincing evidence, and it should do so in a timely manner.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 6945, the No Retaining Every Gun In a System That Restricts Your Rights Act: Currently when federal firearms licensees go out of business they transfer the last 20 years of their records to the ATF for safekeeping. After 20 years, the ATF in turn is supposed to discard this data. However, through my correspondence with the ATF, we have learned that the bureau has collected almost one billion firearms purchases records, resulting in the creation of an illegal database to track firearm owners. This bill will force the ATF to delete these records and protect the privacy of Americans.

Enforcing Our Laws and Targeting Criminals

• Cosponsor of H.R. 1518, the 21^st Century NICS Act: This commonsense bill allows the FBI to access the N-Dex system when performing a NICS background check for a firearms purchase. This database includes the criminal records from various local, state, and federal agencies, and its use will ensure no criminals are able to purchase firearms. This reform could have prevented the terrible Charleston shooting.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 1604, the STOP Straw Purchases Act: This legislation would strengthen federal laws to make it easier to go after straw purchasers and gun traffickers. A straw purchase is when someone makes false statements to buy a firearm for another person. This commonsense change would increase the penalty from 10 to 25 years, and help federal officials keep illegal guns off our streets.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 194, the DOJ Report on NICS Prosecutions: Last year House Democrats brought forth their radical H.R. 8 and H.R. 1446, which would have curbed the basic Second Amendment rights of Americans and allowed the federal government to potentially delay a background check for an indefinite period without providing a reason. In response, this bill would require the DOJ to provide a report on the number of background check (NICS) denials given after a firearm was transferred. Only with this important information can we understand the steps we need to take to enforce our laws while not diminishing the constitutional rights of Americans.

Protecting the Safety and Security of all Americans

• Cosponsor of H.R. 1635, STOP II: Classrooms Over Conference Rooms Act: This legislation will take the money appropriated for conference room rentals at the Department of Education to double the available security funding to harden schools. Our children are precious, and we must make the investments to ensure our schools are a safe place for them to learn and grow.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 1567, the Police Officers Protecting Children Act: Under current law, law enforcement officers are stripped of the ability to carry a weapon and protect our children on school grounds once they retire. This legislation will amend federal law so these retired officers can continue protecting our children in school.
   
• Original Cosponsor of H.R. 1690, the Defending our Defenders Act: Every day, law enforcement officers put themselves on the line to protect their communities. This legislation will make it a federal offense to murder any federal, state, or local law enforcement, punishable through life in prison or the death penalty. We must stand with these public servants who dedicate their lives to keeping Americans safe.
   
• Cosponsor of H.R. 1567, the Police Officers Protecting Children Act: Current federal law makes it difficult for schools to recruit experienced guards without straining limited police resources. This legislation will fix this shortcoming by allowing off-duty and retired law enforcement officers to carry a concealed firearm while in a school zone if a school allows it. These trained individuals are fully capable of protecting our schools, and there is no reason why we should prevent them from further serving their communities.

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