{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://clyde.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3765", "Rep. Clyde Files Amicus Brief in Defense of Americans\u2019 Second Amendment Freedoms", "2026-09-03", "2026", "2026-09", "Republican", "House", "GA", "Andrew S. Clyde", "C001116", "clyde.house.gov", "clyde", "https://clyde.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Today, Congressman Andrew Clyde (GA-09), in partnership with the American Center for Law & Justice (ACLJ), filed a Supreme Court amicus brief in the case Viramontes v. Cook County (consolidated with Grant v. Higgins), a major Second Amendment case addressing the constitutionality of semi-automatic rifles. More than 60 House Republicans joined Rep. Clyde on the brief.\n\nIn Viramontes v. Cook County, the U.S. Supreme Court is weighing whether the Second Amendment protects the right to possess semi-automatic rifles such as AR-15s, after Cook County, Illinois and the State of Connecticut enacted bans on these firearms, which were upheld by the lower courts. The brief argues that the Supreme Court should overrule the lower courts and declare such bans unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.\n\nIn the brief, the lawmakers argue:\n\n\u201cTo hold that these rifles may be banned, not in spite of, but because they are effective in military service is to read the prefatory clause out of the Constitution, violate its plain text, and completely ignore this Court\u2019s ruling in Heller. The Amendment protects, at minimum, arms that are in common use for lawful purposes and that bear a reasonable relationship to the citizen-militia tradition the clause celebrates. Military small arms that meet the common-use test, of which the AR-15 is a quintessential example, must therefore sit near the heart of the right, not outside it.\u201d\n\n\u201cMuch to gun-grabbing Democrats\u2019 dismay, the Second Amendment is abundantly clear,\u201d said Clyde. \u201c\u2018Shall not be infringed\u2019 is not a suggestion, regardless of the firearm in question. Semi-automatic rifles, including AR-15s, are owned by millions of law-abiding Americans, as it is well within our constitutional rights to do so. As an unapologetic voice in the fight to protect and restore our Second Amendment liberties, I\u2019m proud to lead this amicus effort, and I\u2019m confident the Supreme Court will declare these bans for what they are: blatantly unconstitutional.\u201d\n\nThe brief was joined by 62 House Republicans, including Representatives Jodey Arrington (TX-19), Brian Babin (TX-36), Jim Baird (IN-04), Nick Begich (AK-At-Large), Sheri Biggs (SC-03), Lauren Boebert (CO-04), Josh Brecheen (OK-02), Tim Burchett (TN-02), Eric Burlison (MO-07), Ben Cline (VA-06), Michael Cloud (TX-27), Mike Collins (GA-10), Eli Crane (AZ-02), Warren Davidson (OH-08), Scott DesJarlais (TN-04), Troy Downing (MT-02), Chuck Edwards (NC-11), Julie Fedorchak (ND-At-Large), Randy Fine (FL-06), Chuck Fleischmann (TN-03), Russell Fry (SC-07), Russ Fulcher (ID-01), Brandon Gill (TX-26), Paul Gosar (AZ-09), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Michael Guest (MS-03), Pat Harrigan (NC-10), Andy Harris (MD-01), Mark Harris (NC-08), Diana Harshbarger (TN-01), Kevin Hern (OK-01), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Erin Houchin (IN-09), Wesley Hunt (TX-38), Brian Jack (GA-03), Anna Paulina Luna (FL-13), Nancy Mace (SC-01), Tracey Mann (KS-01), Thomas Massie (KY-04), Tom McClintock (CA-05), Rich McCormick (GA-07), Addison McDowell (NC-06), John McGuire (VA-05), Mary Miller (IL-15), Barry Moore (AL-01), Riley Moore (WV-02), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Ralph Norman (SC-05), Bob Onder (MO-03), Scott Perry (PA-10), Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14), John Rose (TN-06), Chip Roy (TX-21), Michael Rulli (OH-06), John Rutherford (FL-05), Keith Self (TX-03), Jefferson Shreve (IN-06), Adrian Smith (NE-03), Dave Taylor (OH-02), Claudia Tenney (NY-24), Beth Van Duyne (TX-24), and Derrick Van Orden (WI-03).\n\nView the full amicus brief HERE.", 1, "2026-09-04T09:19:37Z", "2026-09-04T09:20:58Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://clyde.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3765"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6875251419842243, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}