U.S. Rep. Dave Brat’s Statement on the Democrat House floor protest
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Dave Brat’s Statement on the Democrat House floor protest:
The Democrats are engaging in dishonest political theater that conflates all gun violence in the past several decades with the actions of the Orlando murderer who pledged allegiance to ISIS.
The loss of innocent life in Orlando was tragic, and Congress must take strong action to keep Americans safe. However, the bill Democrats are proposing, Peter King’s HR 1076, would give the Attorney General the authority to deny firearms to anyone on a secret list. The bill failed in the Senate and violates several Constitutional rights, including the right to due process.
Americans are innocent until proven guilty. We have the Constitutional right to face our accusers and a right to a trial by a jury of our peers.
This is the democratic process our founding fathers fought to establish. We cannot abandon the Constitution in favor of secret lists.
Fundamentally, the Orlando tragedy didn’t happen because of guns – it happened because of the radical Islamic ideology that the murderer subscribed to. Disarming law abiding Americans is not the way to keep Americans safe.
###
