{"id":34650,"date":"2024-01-18T16:13:57","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=34650"},"modified":"2024-01-18T16:18:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T21:18:43","slug":"republican-bill-brings-firearms-debate-to-indian-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/01\/18\/republican-bill-brings-firearms-debate-to-indian-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Republican bill brings firearms debate to Indian Country"},"content":{"rendered":"<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1721201589&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=true&#038;show_comments=false&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=false&#038;visual=true\"><\/iframe><figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">Indianz.Com Audio: <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/markup-on-hr1709-tribal-firearm-access-act\" title=\"Markup on H.R.1709 - Tribal Firearm Access Act\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Markup on H.R.1709 &#8211; Tribal Firearm Access Act<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<div class=\"h3-responsive font-weight-bold\">Republican bill brings firearms debate to Indian Country<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"date\">Thursday, January 18, 2024<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"byline\">By Acee Agoyo<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"source\">Indianz.Com<\/div>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWASHINGTON, D.C. &#8212;  A Republican-led bill to ensure tribal identification cards can be used to purchase firearms is <a href=https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/indianz\/markup-on-hr1709-tribal-firearm-access-act>moving forward in the 118th Congress<\/a>.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAfter just a few minutes of consideration, the <a href=\"https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/\">House Committee on the Judiciary<\/a> approved <a href=https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/1709>H.R.1709<\/a>, the Tribal Firearm Access Act, at a markup on Thursday morning. But no testimony was taken on the measure, which supporters described as a recognition of the right to bear arms in Indian Country.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;The Tribal Firearms Access Act  is a simple and straightforward bill that allows members of federally recognized Indian tribes to use their valid identification documents issued by tribal governments to obtain a firearm from a federally licensed dealer,&#8221; said <a href=\"https:\/\/hageman.house.gov\/\">Rep. Harriet Hageman<\/a> (R-Wyoming), a new member of Congress who also serves as chair of the <a href=\"https:\/\/naturalresources.house.gov\/issues\/issue\/?IssueID=5066\">House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs<\/a>, the legislative panel with jurisdiction over Indian Country legislation.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<div class=\"embed-responsive embed-responsive-16by9\">\r\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/aiqcQaQ5Re8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">House Committee on the Judiciary: <a href=https:\/\/youtu.be\/aiqcQaQ5Re8>Markup of H.R. 5736, H.R. 1508, H.R. 1709, H.R. 5585, H.R. 6976, H.R. 6678, H.R. 6679 &#8211; January 18, 2024<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nDespite the lack of a public hearing on H.R.1709, the bill has drawn support in Indian Country. President Tony Reider of the <a href=https:\/\/fsst-nsn.gov\/>Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe<\/a>, headquartered in South Dakota, said tribal government documents should be accepted as valid  in the same manner as state and even foreign identification cards.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cThe right to bear arms is constitutionally vested, and important to the day-to-day lives of Native Americans,&#8221; Reider said when <a href=https:\/\/dustyjohnson.house.gov\/>Rep. Dusty Johnson<\/a> (R-South Dakota) introduced the bill  in <a href=https:\/\/dustyjohnson.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/johnson-re-introduces-bill-protect-tribal-members-firearm-access>March 2023<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nJohnson, who is South Dakota&#8217;s sole member of the <a href=https:\/\/www.house.gov\/>U.S. House of Representatives<\/a>, first introduced the Tribal Firearms Access Act in the 117th Congress, when Democrats were in control of the chamber. His bill never advanced during the prior legislative session.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nBut with Republicans  now in charge of the House, Johnson&#8217;s bill has gained new attention by a party eager to show its support for firearms and for the <a href=https:\/\/constitution.congress.gov\/constitution\/amendment-2\/>Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution<\/a>, a <a href=https:\/\/www.gop.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=587>major plank in  the GOP&#8217;s platform<\/a>. And the addition of <a href=https:\/\/peltola.house.gov\/>Rep. Mary Peltola<\/a> (D-Alaska), who is the <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/09\/15\/i-am-humbled-and-deeply-honored-rep-mary-peltola-d-alaska-joins-u-s-congress\/>first Alaska Native in Congress<\/a>, as a co-sponsor has enabled supporters to characterize H.R.1709 as bipartisan. \r\n<P><\/p>\r\n\u201cIn Alaska, firearms are an essential tool for subsistence and self-defense alike,\u201d  Peltola, who is the first Democrat elected to her state&#8217;s at-large congressional district in 50 years,   said when the <a href=https:\/\/dustyjohnson.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/johnson-re-introduces-bill-protect-tribal-members-firearm-access>bill was introduced<\/a>.\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n \u201cTribal identification cards are already valid for a variety of uses, including boarding planes and accessing federal buildings and banks across the nation,&#8221; Peltola added. &#8220;This bill would extend this parity to include the Second Amendment rights of tribal members.\u201d\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As Alaska\u2019s Representative, I understand what guns mean to our state. <br><br>When I\u2019m in Congress, I will stand up for the Second Amendment \u2014 whether it\u2019s hunting, self-defense, or recreation \u2014 because Alaska just wouldn\u2019t be Alaska without guns. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MaryForCongress?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MaryForCongress<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FOnPvjQLvL\">pic.twitter.com\/FOnPvjQLvL<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Mary Peltola (@MaryPeltola) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MaryPeltola\/status\/1586152112580435968?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 29, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nDuring the markup on Thursday, the only Democrat who spoke about the Tribal Firearms Access Act was <a href=https:\/\/nadler.house.gov\/>Rep. Jerrold Nadler<\/a> (D-New York), the ranking member of the House Committee on the Judiciary. He described the bill as &#8220;reasonable&#8221; and said  he would work with Republicans to ensure that tribal government documents are recognized in federal law in as many areas as possible.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\n&#8220;It is our hope that we can reach an agreement that includes  tribal IDs, tribal governments, and Native Americans in a more expansive way than just allowing tribal IDs for gun purchases,&#8221; Nadler said. &#8220;Such an agreement would serve to correct the broader injustice of failing to include tribal governments in more provisions of the law and would prevent tribes from having to seek recognition of one law or one right at a time.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nDuring the session, Hageman introduced a <a href=https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/republicans-judiciary.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/hr-1709-ans.pdf>substitute version of H.R.1209<\/a>. She said the replacement clarifies that a tribal identification card must contain a photo of the carrier in order for it to be accepted as valid for the purchase of a firearm.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;This amendment in the nature of a substitute makes a small but important change,&#8221; Hageman said. &#8220;It makes it clear that the tribal identification must have a photograph of the individual.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe committee then accepted the amendment by a voice vote and approved H.R.1209 by a voice vote. No lawmakers  expressed opposition during either vote.\r\n<P><\/p><div class=\"mt-1 mb-1\"><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block; text-align:center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-8411603009680747\" data-ad-slot=\"6394965691\"><\/ins><script>(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/div><p><\/p>\r\nThe Tribal Firearms Access Act can now be considered for passage by the full U.S. House of Representatives. Since the <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/01\/03\/republicans-take-power-on-day-of-chaos-on-capitol-hill\/>start of the 118th Congress in January 2023<\/a>, Republican leaders have placed a priority on Second Amendment legislation amid <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2023\/10\/06\/cronkite-news-republican-revolt-leads-to-ouster-of-speaker-of-the-house\/>ongoing disruption and disagreement<\/a> within their party  in the chamber.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\nWhen <a href=https:\/\/mikejohnson.house.gov\/>Rep. Mike Johnson<\/a> (R-Louisiana) was elected as <a href=https:\/\/www.speaker.gov\/>Speaker of the House<\/a> last October following a Republican revolt, one  gun violence prevention organization described him as an &#8220;extremist   who has put the will of the gun lobby ahead of the safety of Americans.&#8221;\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n&#8220;By choosing Johnson as Speaker, the Republican party has made it clear that it has no interest in addressing public safety,&#8221;  said Peter Ambler of the  <a href=https:\/\/giffords.org\/press-release\/2023\/10\/statement-on-election-of-mike-johnson-as-speaker\/>GIFFORDS organization<\/a> founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona), who was a <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2011\/01\/10\/charges-over-attempted-assassi.asp>victim of gun violence<\/a>  in her Congressional district in Arizona in 2011.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nThe <a href=https:\/\/www.senate.gov\/>U.S. Senate<\/a> version of the Tribal Firearms Access Act is <a href=https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/909>S.909<\/a>. The bill was introduced by <a href=https:\/\/www.mullin.senate.gov\/>Sen. Markwayne Mullin<\/a> (R-Oklahoma), who is the <a href=https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/11\/08\/markwayne-mullin-becomes-first-native-u-s-senator-in-nearly-two-decades\/>first tribal citizen to serve<\/a> in the chamber in nearly two decades.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cTribal citizens, and all law-abiding Americans, have a fundamental right to keep and bear arms,\u201d <a href=https:\/\/www.mullin.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/mullin-introduces-bill-to-protect-tribal-members-second-amendment-rights\/>said Mullin<\/a>, who is a citizen of the <a href=https:\/\/www.cherokee.org\/>Cherokee Nation<\/a>. \u201cFor too long, a lapse in existing law has prohibited tribal members from using their tribal government-issued ID to lawfully purchase firearms. Our commonsense legislation corrects this unconstitutional infringement.\u201d\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n <a href=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/01\/18\/republican-bill-brings-firearms-debate-to-indian-country\/uscapitol-18\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-34659\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1920\" data-attachment-id=\"34659\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2024\/01\/18\/republican-bill-brings-firearms-debate-to-indian-country\/uscapitol-18\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/18\/USCapitol-scaled.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"2560,1920\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;1.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 14 Pro Max&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1672779093&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;6.86&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;64&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.00055555555555556&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"U.S. Capitol\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;U.S. Capitol&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The U.S. Capitol houses the legislative branch of the federal government. Photo by Indianz.Com &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/&quot;&gt;(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/18\/USCapitol-1024x768.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/18\/USCapitol-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"U.S. Capitol\"   class=\"size-full wp-image-34659\" \/><\/a> <figcaption class=\"figure-caption\">The U.S. Capitol houses the legislative branch of the federal government. Photo by Indianz.Com <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">(CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)<\/a><\/figcaption>\r\n<P><\/p>\r\nThe Senate remains in control of Democrats, who have not scheduled a hearing on Mullin&#8217;s version of Tribal Firearms Access Act. The bill currently has seven <a href=https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/909\/cosponsors>co-sponsors &#8212; all Republicans<\/a>.\r\n<p><\/p>\r\n\u201cUnder current federal law, tribal members are unable to use their tribal identification documents, which often is their only form of identification, to purchase a firearm,\u201d <a href=https:\/\/www.rounds.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/rounds-mullin-introduce-legislation-to-protect-tribal-members-second-amendment-rights>said Sen. Mike Rounds<\/a> (R-South Dakota). \u201cThe Tribal Firearm Access Act fixes this problem, allowing tribal members to exercise their Second Amendment rights.&#8221;\r\n<P><\/p>\r\n&#8220;As South Dakota\u2019s member of the Indian Affairs Committee, I\u2019m proud to introduce this common sense legislation,&#8221; said Rounds, who serves on the <a href=https:\/\/www.indian.senate.gov\/about\/committee-membership\/>Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a> along with Mullin.\r\n<P><\/P>\r\nAs of the posting of this story on Thursday afternoon, the House Committee on the Judiciary&#8217;s markup was ongoing. Consideration of H.R. 1709 occurred at the start of the session.\r\n<P><\/P><div class=\"h5-responsive sub\">House Committee on the Judiciary Notice<\/div>\r\n<a href=https:\/\/judiciary.house.gov\/committee-activity\/markups\/markup-hr-5736-hr-1508-hr-1709-hr-5585-hr-6976-hr-6678-hr-6679>Markup of H.R. 5736, H.R. 1508, H.R. 1709, H.R. 5585, H.R. 6976, H.R. 6678, H.R. 6679<\/a> (January 18, 2024)","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Republican-led bill to ensure tribal identification cards can be used to purchase guns is moving forward despite little debate.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34659,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,13,1,14],"tags":[869,3586,78,79,94,882,555,4498,1389,4496,3935,49,48,72,296,3323,4292,209,85,213,98,483,4497],"class_list":["post-34650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indian-trust","category-law","category-national","category-politics","tag-117th","tag-118th","tag-alaska","tag-alaska-native","tag-democrats","tag-dusty-johnson","tag-fsst","tag-gabby-giffords","tag-guns","tag-h-r-1209","tag-harriet-hageman","tag-hnrc","tag-house","tag-judiciary","tag-markwayne-mullin","tag-mary-peltola","tag-mike-johnson","tag-mike-rounds","tag-republicans","tag-scia","tag-south-dakota","tag-subsistence","tag-tony-reider","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/18\/USCapitol-scaled.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-90S","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34650"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34650\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34666,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34650\/revisions\/34666"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}