Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) sounded the alarm on Senate Democrat-sponsored gun legislation that amends the House of Representatives’ Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill (H.R. 38). Massie is Chairman of the Second Amendment Caucus and wrote on social media that he was “blowing the whistle on the swamp” after Republicans in the House fast-tracked through committee a gun bill titled “Fix-NICS,” which included a background check database expansion with financial incentives and a bump stock study, and merged it with the popular concealed carry reciprocity legislation. The congressman added that the House bill “broke the previous records for fast-track legislation,” making it out of committee “within hours of being introduced.”
Massie also pointed out red flags that indicate why every law-abiding gun owner should be skeptical. First, the bill talks about “Violence Prevention,” secondly the bill is being co-sponsored by high-ranking Democrats, and third the bill was “rammed through.” He also believes it calls for spending “over half a billion dollars” to widen the background check database and it “compels administrative agencies, not just courts,” to question who can own firearms.
Furthermore, Massie criticized the background check system for resulting in tens of thousands of unjustified denials of gun purchases every year and accused the bill of throwing millions of dollars “at a faulty program.” He also warned of the possibility of this setting a foundation for universal gun prohibition when there is a president not so friendly to firearms in the future.
Lastly, Massie called for House leadership to ensure Congress votes separately on all of the proposed bills and has the time to amend or ax the fix-NICS bill. This is a huge disappointment for many gun owners who had their hopes up for getting national reciprocity for their concealed weapons. Instead, Democrats and the Republican establishment have worked together to create a gun control “Trojan horse.”