HYDE-SMITH, GOSAR REINTRODUCE ‘GRIP ACT’ TO BLOCK STATE GUN REGISTRIES
Bicameral Legislation Intended to Prohibit the Use of Federal Dollars to Keep Gun Owner Registries
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has again teamed with U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) to continue a bicameral fight to prohibit states, localities, or any other organization from using federal funding and background check information to maintain gun registries.
Hyde-Smith and Gosar today reintroduced the Gun-owner Registration Information Protection (GRIP) Act (S.3916), which would clarify existing law prohibiting the use of federal funding by states or local entities to store or list sensitive, personal information related to the legal ownership or possession of firearms.
“The Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens remain imperiled as Democrats and anti-gun activists lean into government overreach. The GRIP Act is needed to clarify that states and localities cannot use federal funds or data to keep gun registries that can lead to infringing on a constitutional right,” Senator Hyde-Smith said.
“The Second Amendment is not a second-class right. The GRIP Act safeguards constitutional freedoms and protects the privacy of millions of law-abiding Americans,” stated Congressman Gosar.
The GRIP Act would ensure the federal government does not support, either intentionally or otherwise, state or local efforts to collect and store personally identifiable information related to legal firearm purchases and ownership. Current law already prevents the federal government from storing information acquired during the firearms background check process.
The bill also clarifies that states and local entities cannot use federal grant funds from programs, such as the National Criminal History Improvement Program, NICS Amendment Records Improvement Program, or the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, to create or maintain full or partial gun registries. It would not limit states’ recordkeeping for permitting, law enforcement-issued firearms, or lost or stolen firearms.
Original cosponsors of Hyde-Smith’s 119th Congress measure include U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
U.S. Representatives Mike Ezell (R-Miss.) and Michael Guest (R-Miss.) are among 75 original cosponsors of Gosar’s companion legislation (HR.7678).
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), National Rifle Association, Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, Gun Owners of America, and National Association for Gun Rights have endorsed the GRIP Act.
“This is much-needed legislation to protect the privacy of those who choose to lawfully exercise their Second Amendment rights when they purchase a firearm at retail. The GRIP Act will ensure federal funds aren’t available to create and maintain state government watchlists that are ripe for privacy abuse by malevolent actors, much the same way private banking information was illegally abused by government authorities in the previous administration,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “NSSF is grateful to Senator Hyde-Smith for her leadership to protect the privacy and the Second Amendment rights of lawful gun-owning Americans.”
“The danger of any form of gun registration lies in the historical pattern that follows. While such measures are often presented as well-intentioned, they have consistently led to expanded gun control rather than increased freedom. History shows that registration schemes are frequently a precursor to confiscation — as seen in modern examples such as England and Australia. Any infringement on the people’s right to keep and bear arms violates the U.S. Constitution, the supreme law of the land that every public official has sworn an oath to uphold and defend,” said Sam Bushman, CEO of the Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association.
A one-page summary of the GRIP Act is available here.
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