{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.wicker.senate.gov/2023/9/wicker-hyde-smith-back-bill-to-stop-use-of-public-health-emergency-to-infringe-on-second-amendment-rights", "Wicker, Hyde-Smith Back Bill to Stop Use of \u2018Public Health Emergency\u2019 to Infringe on Second Amendment Rights", "2023-09-22", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "Senate", "MS", "Roger F. Wicker", "W000437", "www.wicker.senate.gov", "wicker", "https://www.wicker.senate.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 With threats of federal or state efforts to promote gun control through emergency declarations, U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., again cosponsored legislation to ensure that law abiding Americans do not arbitrarily have their rights stripped in the name of any irresponsible \u201cpublic health emergency\u201d declaration.\n\nWicker and Hyde-Smith are original cosponsors of the Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act of 2023, legislation that would prevent the President, Secretary of Health and Human Services, or other government officials from declaring certain emergencies or disasters for the purpose of imposing gun control. It was reintroduced by U.S. Senator Mike Braun, R-Ind.\n\n\u201cAmericans have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms, and no disaster or emergency declared by bureaucrats can circumvent that right,\u201d Wicker said. \u201cI will fight any attempt by this Administration to make an end run around the Constitution.\u201d\n\n\u201cNo emergency declaration will fix the senseless policies that are fueling the violent crime surge in blue cities and states. The use of such a declaration would be an abuse of the power to declare emergencies, violate the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, and, worse, further erode public confidence in those who govern them,\u201d Hyde-Smith said.\n\n\u201cMany said that public health emergencies would not be abused to impose gun control, but after we saw the vast expansion of executive power during COVID and the New Mexico Governor use a public health emergency to effectively suspend the 2nd Amendment in her state, no one can doubt that this needs to be addressed,\u201d said Braun. \u201cWe need to set into law that no one can remove the right to defend ourselves and our families with the stroke of a pen.\u201d\n\nThe Washington Post this week reported that the Biden administration will create a new Office of Gun Violence Prevention in response to \u201cstalled\u201d progress in Congress. A high-profile activist from the Community Justice Action Fund will serve a key role for the new office: an organization dedicated to declaring a national gun violence public health emergency as one of its three policy planks.\n\nAdditionally, a federal judge last week suspended a \u201cpublic health emergency\u201d declaration issued by the liberal governor of New Mexico to infringe the rights of law-abiding citizens to have open and concealed carrying firearms.\n\nThe Protecting the Right To Keep and Bear Arms Act (S.2911) would:\n\nProhibit the President or designee, from declaring an emergency pursuant to the National Emergencies Act or major disaster pursuant to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in order to impose gun control.\n\nPrevent the Secretary of Health and Human services from declare public health emergency pursuant to the Public Health Service Act for the purpose of imposing gun control.\n\nPrevent any government official from prohibiting the manufacture, sale, or transfer of a firearm or ammunition during a disaster or emergency.\n\nAdditional original cosponsors include U.S. Senators Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, John Hoeven, R-N.D., Steve Daines, R-Mont., Ted Budd, R-N.C., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Thune, R-S.D., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and J.D. Vance, R-Ohio.\n\nWicker and Hyde-Smith also cosponsored this Braun measure in the 117th Congress.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:37:48Z"]], "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.wicker.senate.gov/2023/9/wicker-hyde-smith-back-bill-to-stop-use-of-public-health-emergency-to-infringe-on-second-amendment-rights"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9439920540899038, "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"}