Got this email today.
Dear Mr.
Knowing of our shared interest in defending the Second Amendment, I am writing
to inform you of recent actions I have taken in the United States Senate that
will benefit gun owners and protect our Second Amendment rights.
As your United States Senator and a sportsman, I am a firm believer that the
Second Amendment protects freedom that was enshrined in the Constitution by our
Founding Fathers. I believe the best way to address gun violence is to enforce
the laws already on the books and vigorously prosecute offenders, rather than
pass more laws. As your Senator, I have adamantly opposed legislation that
would restrict legal gun ownership, and I will remain consistent in my support
for Second Amendment rights.
To end politically motivated lawsuits against firearms and ammunition
manufacturers, I joined Senator Larry Craig of Idaho in the successful passage
of the Protection of Lawful Commerce Act. I was an original cosponsor of this
legislation, which was signed into law by the President on October 26, 2005.
This law is necessary because just one lawsuit holds the potential to bankrupt
U.S. gun manufacturers, harming our military readiness as well as the firearms
industry across the nation. Currently, Pennsylvania has over 200 companies
involved in the firearms industry and over 3,000 federally licensed firearms
dealers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that there are
approximately 34,000 jobs and $909 million in salaries and wages supported by
those businesses and sportsmen in the Commonwealth.
I am also a proud cosponsor of S. 2599, the Disaster Recovery Personal
Protection Act of 2006. In the days following Hurricane Katrina, law
enforcement officials in New Orleans were ordered to confiscate firearms from
law-abiding gun owners instead of returning order to the city. This directive
included the removal of citizens from their homes so that officials could search
for firearms. In some cases the arbitrary confiscation of firearms was made at
gunpoint, depriving law-abiding gun owners the ability to protect themselves and
their families amid the post-Katrina chaos.
In response, the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation
filed a joint lawsuit in federal court seeking injunctive relief from these
seizures. The court ordered New Orleans authorities to stop seizing firearms
from citizens who had committed no criminal violations and to return previously
confiscated firearms. The Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006
would prohibit these actions from ever happening again.
You may be interested to know that Senator David Vitter of Louisiana introduced
an amendment to H.R. 5441, the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations
Act for Fiscal Year 2007. The amendment would ensure that no funds from this
bill could be used to temporarily or permanently seize any firearm during an
emergency or major disaster unless the possession of the firearm is prohibited
by federal or state law, or is evidence in a criminal investigation. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency is under the Department of Homeland Security
and is funded through this bill. This amendment passed with my strong support
by a vote of 84-16 and was included in the final Senate version of H.R. 5441,
which passed unanimously.
I understand from constituents like you that there have been growing privacy
concerns regarding the application process for a hunting or fishing license in
Pennsylvania. Please know that I am working hard to address this issue.
A provision included in the 1996 welfare reform law obligates states to
implement new requirements to encourage payment of child support that
cross-reference Social Security numbers of applicants for drivers' licenses,
professional licenses, occupational licenses and recreational licenses. States
that failed to implement these requirements would lose federal welfare funding.
When applying for, or renewing a driver's, occupational, or professional
license, these records are automated or computerized; however, recreational
licenses in Pennsylvania, such as hunting or fishing licenses, remain in paper
books, usually with multiple entries on one page. With record numbers of
identity theft cases occurring every day, I believe this is a significant
privacy concern. In response, I introduced S. 2249, the Sportsmen's Privacy
Protection Act to repeal the federal mandate that requires states to collect
Social Security numbers for recreational licenses.
S. 2249 has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, of which I am a
member. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this important
piece of legislation to protect our sportsmen's privacy.
Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts on Second Amendment protection
with you. I encourage you to visit my website at
http://www.santorum.senate.gov
for more information on this and other important legislation considered during
the 109th Congress. If I can be of assistance to you on this or any other
matter, please do not hesitate to call on me.
Sincerely,
Rick Santorum
United States Senate