Constitutional Issues
First Amendment:Our founders rightly understood that the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness begins with the right to free speech, a free press, and the freedom to worship and follow God as we please. For as long as I am in office, I will fight to uphold not only the First Amendment, but also the entire Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and the principles of liberty found within the Declaration of Independence.
Second Amendment: My position on gun rights is very simple. I will oppose any restriction or erosion to our Second Amendment liberties. As an avid sportsman, gun owner, and concealed weapons permit holder, I strongly believe that law-abiding citizens should have the right to keep and bear arms. Tyranny occurs not because of too much freedom, but in spite of it. I believe it would be misguided to restrict freedom.
The Second Amendment protects our God given right to keep and bear arms, and these rights shall not be infringed upon like many states have attempted to do. I support Concealed Carry Reciprocity because I believe law abiding citizens should be able to exercise their rights across the country, and if every state has different laws on concealed carry, that infringes upon our basic Second Amendment rights. Please know that I will always fight for the constitutional rights of all Americans.
Civil Liberties: While the security of our citizens is of utmost importance and a duty of the United States government, it must not come at the expense of the rights of citizens. I am working hard to make sure we, as Members of Congress, do the best possible job in providing for the common defense of our nation without violating individual rights.
I agree with our Founders, who wrote clear protections of individual rights into the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." While the security of our people is of utmost importance and a duty of the United States government, it must not come at the expense of the rights of citizens.
This is why I have opposed allowing the indefinite detention, warrantless wiretapping, or "abouts" bulk data surveillance of American citizens. These are abuses of our rights in the name of fighting terrorism. While I believe we must fight terrorism, and that these tools should be available to be used against foreigners, using them against Americans without a warrant clearly violates our Constitutional rights.
For more information concerning my work and views on Constitutional Issues, please contact my Washington, DC office.
I look forward to your feedback.
Thank you.