Testimony of Jeff Bailey Sr. Policy Analyst National Association for Gun Rights

Mr. Chairman, Members of the committee:

Over the last several years, we’ve seen examples of government overreach across the country but people are starting to push back. Senator Rand Paul’s filibuster to allow anti-gun provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act to expire next week is the first time we’ve seen a significant attempt by someone in federal government to reign in the federal government in decades.

Two years ago, Ohio House Bill 99 took a first step toward curbing federal overreach in Ohio.

That bill failed to make it out of committee.

Since then, President Obama has continued to prove his willingness to sidestep congress and implement gun control of his own accord whether that be through his executive orders or through regulatory action like attempting to ban the M855 rifle cartridge.

Members of congress are currently calling for federal reporting of any online purchase of ammunition in excess of 1,000 rounds. With the cost of shipping, ordering online only makes sense when done in bulk, and shouldn’t come at the expense of being included in a de facto list of gun owners. (Gun owners are typically the largest purchasers of ammunition.)

A clear message must reverberate, not only in the halls of this building, but from the

Appalachian plateau to the rolling fields of the central plains. Those intent on trading freedom for a perception of safety must be told in no uncertain terms that it is not a fair trade. Their perceived safety will not save even one life, as if the contrived sound bite could even be the standard on which governments operated.

The founders of this nation understood that rights were not granted by the government, as they understood that the government belonged to the polity, not the other way around. They recognized this fact in the tenth amendment to the US Constitution. Each power that the government was granted was a power on loan to them from the individual sovereigns. These powers were delegated to state governments, and further to the federal government.

House Bill 35 seeks to remind the federal government that they are to be representative of the people, not masters of them. By imposing firm penalties on those agents of the federal government, or worse, of international organizations, who choose to usurp the sovereignty of freedom loving Ohioans, this body can stand up for the people it purports to represent. Limiting federal enforcement of gun bans and registration schemes which pave the way to additional gun seizures, House Bill 35 moves one step closer to the America in which the founders, and all freedom loving patriots, would have us live.

I urge the committee to vote for the passage of this bill for consideration by the full House.

Thank you for your time.