{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-leads-bill-to-preserve-second-amendment-rights-for-law-abiding-wyoming-citizens/", "Lummis Leads Bill to Preserve Second Amendment Rights for Law-Abiding Wyoming Citizens", "2024-08-01", "2024", "2024-08", "Republican", "Senate", "WY", "Cynthia M. Lummis", "L000571", "www.lummis.senate.gov", "lummis", "https://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Washington, D.C.\u2014 Today, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced legislation to shield law-abiding gun owners in Wyoming from Democrats\u2019 blatant Second Amendment infringements. The Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act not only protects the people of Wyoming\u2019s right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes but preserves our nation\u2019s firearms heritage by allowing museums and researchers to have access to a wide variety of weaponry to display for the public.\n\n\u201cWyoming is home to some of the most impressive firearm museums in the country, yet the Biden-Harris administration\u2019s latest attack on our Second Amendment rights threatens to limit museums\u2019 access to certain historical weapons and would allow important parts of our history to be lost,\u201d said Lummis. \u201cThe Second Amendment could not be clearer, and we have a responsibility to protect law-abiding Wyoming citizens and museums from this administration\u2019s gun-grabbing policies.\u201d\n\n\u201cThis critical legislation would serve as a firewall against future anti-gun administrations bypassing Congress and imposing gun control measures,\u201d said Randy Kozuch, Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). \u201cSenator Lummis\u2019 bill would also ensure that all lawful purposes, including self-defense, would have to be given due consideration and respect in the administration of federal law. On behalf of our millions of members nationwide, we thank Senator Lummis for taking the lead on these important and necessary reforms.\u201d\n\n\u201cNot many people know that non-government museums are bound by firearms laws in the United States,\u201d said Ashley Hlebinsky, Executive Director of the Firearms Research Center at the University of Wyoming. \u201cAs a result, many historically significant artifacts are destroyed because they cannot be legally possessed by non-governmental entities. No matter where one sits on the political debate regarding firearms, a desire to preserve our nation\u2019s history should be universal. Artifacts connect us to a time and place and we learn, for better or worse, who we are, and who we want to be. It\u2019s exciting to see a bill seeking to allow respected institutions to be stewards of those collections in perpetuity.\u201d\n\nThe Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act would:\n\nEliminate most restrictions in federal firearms laws that require a \u201csporting purpose,\u201d which is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.\n\nRequire the federal government to allow firearms to be imported into the United States under most conditions, so long as they do not come from a country with which the United States has historically denied import licenses (e.g., an embargo).\n\nEnable the return of historical American firearms (like the M1 Garand) which were lent to foreign governments like South Korea during the Cold War, allowing their eventual sale to veterans, shooting clubs and all Americans with an interest in these firearms. President Trump enabled the return of thousands of M1 Garands from the Philippines in 2018 after their return was blocked by President Obama.\n\nExempts museums from paying a transfer tax under the National Firearms Act on machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and other similar weapons so long as the firearm is intended for public display, research purposes or preservation as a historical artifact.\n\nPrevents shotguns, shotgun shells and certain other large-caliber rifles from being classified as \u201cdestructive devices\u201d under the National Firearms Act.\u201d\n\nEliminates the vast majority of import restrictions for most firearms (other than machine guns).\n\nPermits the temporary interstate loan or rental of a firearm for all lawful purposes.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:41:32Z"]], "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://www.lummis.senate.gov/press-releases/lummis-leads-bill-to-preserve-second-amendment-rights-for-law-abiding-wyoming-citizens/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9619016200304031, "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"}