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Newhouse Stands Up for Second Amendment Rights

April 19, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. –– Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) released the following statement after joining Reps. Chris Jacobs (R-NY), Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and 13 others in introducing H.R. 7493, the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act, to protect the rights of responsible firearm owners.

“The Second Amendment codified Americans’ right to keep and bear arms, and that right should not be considered circumstantial,” said Rep. Newhouse. “This legislation will ensure that, even when they may be struggling financially, responsible gun owners across America are still able to access their firearms as guaranteed by the United States Constitution.”

“An American’s right to protect themselves and their family is not conditioned on their financial standing. People fall on hard times, but their fundamental rights afforded under the Second Amendment are ensured by our Constitution and must be protected,” said Rep. Jacobs. “I am proud to lead this effort in the House to ensure any law-abiding American can continue to defend themselves despite financial hardship, and I will continue my work to protect and defend the Second Amendment.”

“I am proud to sponsor legislation to ensure gunowners can always maintain their Constitutional right to bear arms,” said Rep. Stefanik. “The government should not be allowed to take advantage of lawful gunowners who have declared bankruptcy.”

Click here to read the full text of H.R. 7493, the Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act.

Background:

The Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act (H.R. 7493) would modify federal bankruptcy law to allow an individual debtor to exempt from their bankruptcy estate one or more firearms up to a total maximum value of $3,000. The bill also specifies that such firearms are household goods that are not subject to liens in bankruptcy.

The legislation was originally cosponsored by Representatives Jacobs (NY-27), Newhouse (WA-04), Weber (TX-14), Mooney (WV-02), Van Drew (NJ-02), Garbarino (NY-02), Stefanik (NY-21), Tenney (NY-22), Mullin (OK-02), Gosar (AZ-04), McKinley (WV-01), Budd (NC-13), Norman (SC-05), Feenstra (IA-04), Cawthorn (NC-11), and Herrell (NM-02).

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