The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS” mentioning the U.S. Dept. of Justice was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H2294-H2295 on Feb. 28, 2019.
The Department is one of the oldest in the US, focused primarily on law enforcement and the federal prison system. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, detailed wasteful expenses such as $16 muffins at conferences and board meetings.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE RIGHT TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS
(Mr. BANKS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute.)
Mr. BANKS. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the majority party's attempts to take away Americans' Second Amendment rights.
The legislation before the House this week is a constitutional overreach that would limit the rights of law-abiding citizens and does not address the serious issue of illegal gun transfers.
Madam Speaker, criminals do not follow the law. According to the Department of Justice, 77 percent of State prison inmates convicted of a firearm crime either obtain their firearm through theft, off the black market, from a drug dealer, or on the street.
This legislation would make criminals out of law-abiding citizens, instead, and infringe upon Second Amendment gun rights. I urge my colleagues to protect the constitutional right of the American people to keep and bear arms.
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