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“PROTECT CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVILEGES OF DUE PROCESS AND THE SECOND AMENDMENT” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H4057-H4058 on June 22, 2016.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROTECT CONSTITUTIONAL PRIVILEGES OF DUE PROCESS AND THE SECOND
AMENDMENT
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Jolly) for 5 minutes.
Mr. JOLLY. Mr. Speaker, since the tragedy the Nation witnessed in Orlando about 10 days ago--a tragedy that struck at the heart of the American people, that struck at the heart of the LGBT community--we have a Nation that feels less secure, a Nation looking to Congress for answers regarding our national security posture, the policies of this administration's, of this Congress and answers, also legitimately, about how to protect our communities while also protecting the constitutional privileges of due process and the Second Amendment. They are very legitimate questions we cannot turn a deaf ear to. We answer to the American people. They entrust us to serve.
I was in Florida on the weekend of the attacks. When I left Florida to fly up here, I left a State, a community, that was united in grieving, united in mourning, united in its resolve to do something about it. I arrived at an institution as divided as ever.
It is not constructive to shout ``shame'' to your colleagues. It is not constructive to suggest that one side of the aisle is complicit in mass attacks on our Nation simply because some of us have had grave concerns about a proposal that, for 2 years, has been offered that we believe is flawed in recognizing constitutional protections; but it is also not acceptable to embrace inaction, and that is true on my side of the aisle as well.
I have voted against the Democratic proposal in committee for a couple of years. Here is why--and this is important for the American people to understand. If you are on a watch list, you should not be able to buy a gun; but if you are wrongfully on that list and if you are a law-abiding American citizen, your constitutional protections should be provided for.
You see, when an individual today is not allowed to purchase a firearm--the seven, eight, nine classes of individuals--they are all post adjudication. They have received a due process hearing and have been either convicted of a violent felony, have been adjudicated through a court of mental incompetence, or have been dishonorably discharged. In each case, there has been due process. Post adjudication is when the ban has been implemented.
The proposal on the left says there is no due process. If you are on the watch list, you are banned. I think that is wrong, but let's lead on our side of the aisle. Let's lead as a body and figure this out together.
Last week, I circulated a proposal. I didn't introduce it last week. I circulated it. I said to all of my colleagues: Help me make this better.
So last night, with some changes, based on input from my colleagues, I introduced H.R. 5544. It makes changes. It accepts the proposal of no fly, no buy. It is common sense. If you are on a watch list, you shouldn't be able to purchase a firearm; but under my legislation, if you are denied, you must be notified not at the point of sale, but within 10 days by the government that you were denied because you are on a watch list. You are then entitled to a due process hearing within 30 days by a judge, not by a political appointee within the Department of Justice.
The government must then demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence--a 51-49 burden--why you should be prohibited. If they can do that, you are prohibited. If they cannot satisfy that burden, your Second Amendment rights remain intact. Importantly, the individual is entitled to all unclassified information against him. The hearing is private so as to protect the privacy of the individual and the interests of government.
As a result of circulating it, I have also added a provision by a colleague of mine in the Senate that, if a terror investigation has been closed and someone has been removed from the watch list and he later goes to purchase a firearm, the FBI should be notified. I think that is reasonable. That is H.R. 5544.
I ask for your consideration. I ask for you to help make it better. The terror strike in Orlando struck at the heart of America. Yes, it struck in the name of ISIS--a terrorist who proclaimed he was doing it in the name of radical Islam. Those were his words. It also struck at the heart of an LGBT community that, for generations, has been fighting for freedom, and it saw that freedom attacked.
Americans--all Americans--feel less safe now. Let's inject some radical common sense into this debate. We can ensure no fly, no buy while also ensuring due process and the Second Amendment. If we take the context of November--the narrative of a campaign--out of this, we can actually get this done. Let's listen to the 85 percent of Americans who disapprove of the job we are doing rather than go home and have a message of blaming each other. Let's go home and say we solved it together.
If H.R. 5544 is not something you can support, let's talk about how to improve it.
With regard to the proposal my friends on the left have had for 2 years, add due process, real due process. You will get the support. You will get the support on our side of the aisle if you add due process.
I say to my friends on my side of the aisle, let's lead on this issue. The American people are begging for leadership.
There is a community that is broken--a Nation that is broken--in the wake of Orlando. Let's honor the memories of those who are lost. Let's do right by the American people and do right by the surviving families. Let's do something.
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