Date: 2007-06-13
Speaker: DANIEL E. LUNGREN (republican)
Chamber: H
State: Cali

fornia. Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. this isa good bill. This is a bipartisan bill. This goes across ideological lines. It goes across lines of organizations that in the past may not have worked together. There .were some comments on the floor with which I disagree. This is not open season on all the medical records of every American citizen. If you are adjudicated. you will find yourself in this system. And I think most Americans believe that if someone has been adjudicated with a mental defect which is a danger to society. they ought not to have a weapon. There has been an effort to try to reach a reasonable compromise on how .we deal with a very difficult situation dealing with veterans. where overreach in the past by the Veterans Administration has caused trouble with respect to those who ought not to be included in the system. But it doesnt automatically allow all these folks to come in. It is not an open door. They have to go through the system. They have to show that they ought not to be disabled from receiving a gun. Whenever you talk about the second amendment. it seems to me it ought to be done with proper deference and properrespect for the Constitution. At the same time. this is not an unconstitutional deprivation of any right. The courts have been very clear that people can be deniedthe right to guns in these categories. We are not expanding the categories. As a matter of fact. we are creating in this legislation mechanisms to make it work better. I can recall being on the floor in the 1980s when we were dealing with very tough debates on gun laws. and at that time the National Rifle Associations position was that they would support an instant background check system. The technology really wasnt there at that time. It really wasnt there. We are not totally there yet. but we are almost there in terms of instantaneous. This is the kind of background check that we had hoped we could discuss on the floor back in the 1980s. It was sort of a dream. and some people thought it was a ruse at that time to stop legislation. Now it is a reality. It is something that can work. and this legislation makes it work better. May I just reiterate: when I was the chief law enforcement officer of the State of California. we relied on the accuracy of the information contained in our records at the California Department of Justice. Similarly. the only way we could make sure that our laws work effectively and the Federal laws work effectively within our State is that we have proper information on adjudications from other States. And it is unfair to the citizens of my. State to have people disabled from using firearms because they have been adjudicated legally with respect to a mental deficiency and yet others come in from other States. take up residence in our State. and because we dont have the records. they are allowed to have such weapons. which we believe to be a danger to society. So that is what this legislation does. The other thing is. remember. there is an ability to challenge beingplaced on these lists. and that is enhanced in this legislation. There is. yes. funding that encourages the States to participate. But isnt that the way we would like it? We want the States to participate. We want the information to be accurate. We want to have a system that actually is accurate. informative. and instantaneously accessible by proper authorities. So please remember we have not done something which puts Americans medical records at risk unless you have committed a disqualifying crime or unless you have been adjudicated by a court for having a mental defect which would- prove to be a danger to society. I would ask my colleagues to support this legislation.