Response from Congress

In response to a letter I wrote a while back to my Congressman, Rep. Hall sent me this email yesterday:

Thank you for writing regarding H.R. 45, the Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009. I always appreciate hearing from my constituents in the Fourth Congressional District of Texas.

There has been much misinformation regarding this bill, so please allow me to set the record straight. H.R. 45 was introduced in January, referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and has had no action since then. Furthermore, this bill has no support in either the House or the Senate, and as a result will not likely ever make it out of committee. As a staunch supporter of the 2nd Amendment and individual gun rights, let me assure you that I am opposed to H.R. 45, and in the highly unlikely event that it does survive through the committee process, I will do everything I can to make sure it does not succeed on a House Floor vote.

You will be pleased to know that I have cosponsored several pieces of legislation that will protect our citizens’ rights to bear arms. One of these important bills is H.R. 17, the Citizens’ Self-Defense Act, which protects the right to obtain firearms for security purposes and use them in defense of one’s self and family. Two others are H.R. 197, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2009, and H.R. 1620, the Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act of 2009, which both allow any person with a valid, state-issued concealed firearm permit or license to carry a concealed firearm in any other state.

Again, thank you for sharing your views and concerns with me. If I can be of any further assistance please do not hesitate to contact me. With kind regards, I am,

Sincerely,
Ralph M. Hall
Member of Congress

And, yes, I am very pleased to know that Rep. Hall is still the man I always thought he was.