Weighing in on one of the most important firearms-related federal proposals in decades, Firearms Policy Coalition has announced its full support of H.R. 2710, the “Lawful Purpose and Self Defense Act.” Introduced on June 10, the common sense bill is authored by Rep. Rob Bishop (UT-1) and already has the support of 50 co-sponsors.

“So many politicians offer nothing but lip service to our fundamental, individual Second Amendment rights,” said FPC President Brandon Combs. “Congressman Bishop is proving himself to be a true leader on the right to keep and bear arms with his introduction of H.R. 2710.”

Earlier this year, thousands of concerned Americans and gun rights organizations, including Firearms Policy Coalition and the National Rifle Association, successfully defeated an outrageous and underhanded ATF proposal to ban common, popular, and safe M855 rifle ammunition by administratively re-classifying it as “armor piercing.”  H.R. 2710 would take away the ATF’s authority to undermine Second Amendment gun rights in that manner.

“The Obama Administration and ATF have shown the American people nothing but contempt for our rights and have taken every opportunity to leverage outdated, unconstitutional laws and reaching federal regulations in their attempts to advance a purely anti-gun agenda.”

“We are grateful for Congressman Bishop’s efforts to advance these desperately-needed reforms and we will do everything in our power to help him pass H.R. 2710.”

As introduced, H.R. 2710 would:

• Modify the Gun Control Act to allow temporary transfers for lawful reasons beyond “sporting purposes;”

• Prevent ATF from reclassifying popular ammunition as “armor piercing” by removing their statutory authority to create such administrative law;

• Remove import restrictions on non-National Firearms Act firearms and ammunition that are otherwise lawful to possess and sell in the U.S.; and

• Protect shotguns, shotgun shells, and larger caliber rifles from arbitrary classification by ATF as NFA “destructive devices.”

“The Second Amendment was not enacted to simply protect the ‘sporting purposes’ of firearms,” explained Combs. “It enshrined the pre-existing right of self defense and guarantees the People of the United State an opportunity to defend themselves against unjust force.

“Our laws should reflect our Founder’s intent, not some watered-down version that was popular with 1960s anti-gun progressives.”

In his press release announcing H.R. 2710, Rep. Bishop said,

“The founding fathers recognized that the right to bear arms is fundamentally tied to self-defense. This is as true today as it was over two centuries ago when the Bill of Rights was ratified. The ATF has exploited vagaries present in federal gun law to chip away at basic rights. This legislation will slap the over-reaching hand of the federal government and restore some of the freedoms our grandparents enjoyed.”

“Congressman Bishop’s H.R. 2710 is an important and laudable step toward honoring the true meaning of the Second Amendment and bring our nation’s statutes closer to the Supreme Court’s landmark decisions in District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago,” concluded Combs. “We are delighted offer our full support of his excellent bill.”