Growing up in Central Maine, I understand the importance and tradition of fishing, hunting, camping, snowmobiling and exercising our Second Amendment rights. For example, I still use my .22 long lever action Marlin rifle that I bought when I was 14 years old.
Our hard-working and law-abiding families, especially in Franklin County, have a long history of gun ownership and using firearms responsibly. Maine has one of the highest rates of firearms possessions and one of the LOWEST rates of gun violence.
When I was sworn in to Congress, I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. To that end, I have cosponsored bills that will help protect our right to keep and bear arms.
Last week, I became an original cosponsor of H.R. 986, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2015. This bill allow Mainers, who have a valid concealed carry permit, to cross state borders and have their permit be valid as long as that state allows concealed carry permits/licenses. Our law-abiding taxpayers should be able to defend themselves and their property as they travel the country.
Furthermore, I also became a cosponsor of H.R. 578, the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act. This bill will allow our hard-working and law-abiding taxpayers to possess firearms and State-issued concealed carry permits on lands owned and operated by the United State Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). With over 7 million acres of land owned by the USACE, our taxpayers should be able to defend themselves and their property as they legally fish, hunt and camp.
Over the years, our forefathers, service members and many others have fought to defend our freedoms, including our right to keep and bear arms. As your representative, I will continue their fight and always support and uphold our Constitution.
Congressman Bruce Poliquin
I totally agree with Bruce on this. This bill should be NATION WIDE. A valid Conceal Carry Permit should be honored in The United States of America, just like our Drivers License.
Sounds hysterical.
Or paranoid.
@ hysterical…. Please explain…
Back in the day in Maine, high school students used to have their rifles and shotguns in their vehicles, and ammunition in the glove compartment, on school property, during hunting season, many of those who drove pickups proudly displayed theirs in gun racks by the back windows, and everybody who didn’t have a pickup WISHED they did! Oh, the terrible carnage that ensued, …….. oh, wait, there wasn’t any! I’m sure kids today can’t imagine such things. Innocence lost, or stolen. Today high school kids aren’t allowed to have guns , hunting knives, etc. on school property, and you know what would happen to a kid who did, and guess what, gun crimes are HUNDREDS of times more common now! Lopsided thinking, lopsided results. You can sigh and say “Well, what can we do, that’s just the way it is.”, or you can try to restore sanity in the country again. Stop electing lawyers and nanny state politicians for starters. What you DO is what you’ll get.
The congressman’s language with multiple references to “hard-working” and “tax-payers” strikes me as odd.
Does he means that these proposed laws would not apply to non-hard-workers ( retirees and children) and non-tax-payers?
I hope he remembers that his constituency is broader than “hard-working tax-payers”.
To Congressman Bruce: Is there a similar bill in the Senate? Don’t you need a bill in both houses to get this bill passed.
what good would this bill do? wouldn’t other states need to pass similar bills for this to work? we already have reciprocity with new hampshire and strangely, lousiana, but where else can you go with a concealed weapon? it’s extremely burdensome to receive permits in massachussets or new york, so where do you propose to go? connecticut’s process, at least, is somewhat similar to maine’s, but how would passage of this maine law change connecticut’s concealed carry laws?
oh nevermind, just realized we’re talking about federal bills… i’ve been spending too much time on the maine legislature website.
P. Smith…. I would not be very concerned about the ‘non- taxpayers’…. I think they are very rare.. haven’t met one recently…
@ Peter Smith: He appears to have emphasized “law-abiding” and “legally using” more than “hard-working” or “taxpayers.” I personally doubt it indicates any subliminal disrespect for others. I believe there is a large and very powerful organization already for the interests of the non-hardworking/non-taxpaying people in this country.
Sir,
Awesome work! I agree with what you have put forward with those bills. I am a Soldier that has been to combat numerous times in defense of this country. There have been many sacrifices that Soldiers over the generations have made so people can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy now. We must preserve what we have and protect these freedoms because there individuals that are willing to take them away by any means. (By Legislation or by force ISIS)
What the American people need to understand is the administration that is in place now is willing to do anything to erode the Constitution. They have done it, just look at how he shoved executive orders down the throats of the American people. For example amnesty for illegals, the Czars, the UN arms bill and there are many more. Look at the gun control measure that have been enacted in other states taking away the rights of its citizens. Maryland, New York and Chicago all have some of the most restrictive gun control measures around. Maryland, a man was on vacation and was pulled over because he was profiled by the police and on his record it said he had a permit for a concealed weapon. They pulled him over for no reason and searched and found nothing in his vehicle but they still interrogated him and searched his car tearing apart everything. Crime rates in these restrictive areas is also very high. Look at places that citizens have a right to carry the crime rates are very low. Chicago just started to issue right carry permits to their citizens the crime rate has started to drop.
As law abiding citizens we should be able to travel and protect our family and self while traveling anywhere in the states. The Second Amendment is not just for protection of self or hunting but to also to ensure that if it comes to it the American people have the means to defend their home, country and there basic rights. A government that has all the weapons has all the power. Look at all the dictator ships over the years they had all the power. They restricted the use of firearms to only Police and there Army to keep the citizenship in line so there would not be any decent among the people. Our Forefathers had the foresight to include the 2nd Amendment into Constitution to enforce and protect what they fought for and so that generations to come would live in freedom not bondage.
Freedom is Not Free it is Paid for by the Blood of Soldiers willing to Die for This Great Country and What it Stands for. God Bless the USA
SFC Frank J. Lambert
“…concerned”, about the so called non-tax payer…? Why should we be so “concerned,” on the non-essential, no-contributing member of society? Or for that matter a person(s) living in the shadows, etc., what difference does it make?
Excluding gang, police, accidental…, shootings, the US had an increase of mass shootings at soft targets, and particularly, of more than 3 times in the last 6 years in schools??? Why the exponential increase to these soft targets as compared to our recent past history? We had less “gun control” less restrictions, and a younger generation had more access to guns in the past?
One thing that is for sure is that group(s) of anti-gun activists has increased the “demonizing” of guns, to the extreme of even if a paper shaped gun is a danger to humanity!
Another thing that is ignored is the fact of protecting the “wackos” of society, yes I said wacko, not the “PC” term! We need to return to “profiling” people, or groups that are not the “normal” in our towns, cities, etc. Also, allow law enforcement officers to do their job effectively and stop making the Wackos into celebrities. Actually allow the enforcement of the current laws. There is no law without enforcement. It has become the excuse for the PC crowd and their supporters to create more burdensome laws to overshadow the reality and appear as if they were doing something to “fix” the problem.
Get ready for our already ugly and violent 21st century to be the century of soft targets for terrorists. The number of places where people feel safe will diminish as terrorists pick new venues to increase body counts — and grab more of that new and mainstream media publicity that helps with recruitment.
To SFC Frank J. Lambert. WELL SAID. I don’t believe that there are any totally GUN FREE ZONES. A video released earlier this week calls for attacks on several malls in the US and Canada, info. from the USCCA e-mail report. So much for GUN FREE ZONES. Run for office I’ll vote for you.
shame on you for not publishing my post.
Dear Rep. Poliquin,
Please consider moving legislation that will tie the hands of BATF and DOJ with respect to banning certain commonly available types of ammunition. As I am sure you are aware, recently BATF announced they intend to ban the sale of 62 gr M-85 55.6 ammunition. Albeit , commonly used for sports shooting.
The Second Amendment that guarantees us the right to keep and to bear will become meaningless if BATF are allowed to dictate what are acceptable and which ones are not. That belongs to the Congress. What happens for instance, if they dictate that we are only allowed to buy non lethal ammunition. What defense are we to make then for our selves , our families and property?
The Second Amendment as I understand it makes no mention of Sports Shooting or Hunting, not one word of it. It was to guarantee the People,the God given right to self defense from insurrection and/or a tyrannical government.
Jeffrey R. Holt President
Appalachian Ammunition, Inc.
@JRHolt….. Very well written…..God Bless the U.S. Constitution
Looks like our newest rep. just paid for his NRA membership.
Rep. Bruce P. I hope and expect that you will get Rep. Chellie P. onboard for support on this.
To all the 2nd Amend. people, I wish you the best. But to the anti gunners,
do not worry. Our Augusta govt. will cave in because it seems full of the State of Mass. ideology! Remember that voters were the ones to stop the anti bear bill. We foolishly elected rhinos to Augusta and they will vote for whatever the ponytails that moved here want. Sure hope I am wrong. It seems that our power of the vote is wasted.
In thinking about the right to bear arms for all our hard working and law abiding folks here in Maine, is the congressman willing and able to work hard on understanding universal background checks, and the possibility of not arming those that fail the check?
If someone has failed a background check in another state, and they come to Maine, live for a while, obtain a permit for a concealed weapon, and return to the state where they failed the check, could there be a problem?
Crafting a good universal background check law would seem to be a great platform for a newly minted congressman to stand on and say: Look, some things are worth working hard for so we can protect more of the law abiding, hardworking citizens in Maine, and in the other 49 states too!
Something to work hard on, so you can help protect even more good citizens…
While I was reading and “thinking about all that…”, I didn’t really understand the point that was being made? For the anti’s, you do realize that we do have in place since 1998, the Brady Act, which has been implemented through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), whereby, FFL dealers must do federal background checks…I did say federal? This is in addition to the federal background check requirement that was adopted in 1994, whereby, over two million prohibited persons have been denied a firearm transfer or permit through the FBI’s background check system.
And for the Bush haters and the Ob’s lovers, an real example of “sensible gun laws”, “NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007: In January 2008, President Bush signed into law the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007, which, among other things, provided financial rewards and penalties to encourage states to provide to NICS information relevant to whether a person is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. The Act also authorized the Attorney General to make grants to the states for use in establishing and upgrading the states’ ability to report information to NICS and to perform background checks pursuant to the Brady Act.”
Not to much in the liberal media about the real sensible laws.
The point being made is backgound checks are not made on all gun sales, and are not required by all sales. Just ask Uncle Henry’s.
“Looks like our newest rep. just paid for his NRA membership” – Elmira
Your point is what exactly?
The NRA is one of the oldest civic organizations in the country dating back to the 1860’s. Today it has over 4 million members and is still growing. My wife and I are both Lifetime Members.
Thinking about it,
States conduct background checks on State issued carry permits.
Background checks for firearms purchases are done in Washington by the FBI- they tell a dealer to proceed, to hold or deny. Moving from State to State has nothing to do with enhancing one ‘s chances of obtaining a firearm “legally”. Criminals don’t bother with either.
FFL holders (Licensed Dealers) have no interest in gun trafficking. None! As an aside, when DOJ allowed guns to walk in the “Fast and Furious” scandal, they purposely broke the law and many people died as a result of them “losing track” the guns. They also broke international law under the ITAR Accords by not informing the Mexican government that they were allowing (transferring) weapons into Mexico.
If you or I for instance , were to walk into Canada and sell one box of cartridges without informing US and Canadian Customs (US State Dept), we have committed a felony with a 250,000 fine and a 10 year prison sentence.
The point is that Gun laws work by and large very well for general populations, but not so much for lawless governments. Sorta reminds me of the old adage “locks only keep honest out”.
Maine incidentally, has one of the highest rates of gun ownership (and numbers of guns owned per capita) in the country and yet it is one of the safest states to live in.
Hmmm, wonder why that is….
Criminals always try to buy guns in a shop so they can be checked! Most criminals use stolen firearms. We can’t carry in NH without purchasing a permit there.
We don’t punish criminals to the degree that they need to be punished. Until people are harshly punished for using hard drugs or producing and selling, violence and robberies will continue to increase.
Get trained, take a course from someone that has a range and protect yourself.
It’s going to get worse!
I did get your point, (weak), and you did not offer any solution…we can go around and around, kindasorta, what came first the chicken or the egg? Or, a person that you sold a car, van or truck to, and force them to get a tag, regs., and ins., or stop them from going to a hardware store, buy the correct recipe, load it up and he or she drives it into a crowd and pull the trigger (pun intended for left) and all goes BOOM! What then? Don’t allow anyone to sell a vehicle without a special license, permit or clearance form the government? I did use a little sarcasm I just couldn’t help myself. It’s tiring reading the constant sand pounding, blame game, rhetoric from the throwing the hands up in the air crowd, while screaming and demanding for more laws that only the most law-abiding will follow, and not addressing the real problem! Others and I have responded, commented, and offered facts and current laws to help illustrate how to head in a path towards solutions. I can continue to be cynical as the typical liberal crowd; however, I usually chose to be skeptical.
Looks like JL has made his Charlton Heston “cold, dead hands speech”.
He’s right and everybody else is wrong. How predictable.
What is the point of making laws that only law-abiding people follow, and then not punishing criminals for ignoring/breaking those laws? Is that not stupidity? Are the people who want to do that not stupid?
E…, try to stay focused without the hate speech and your cynical dribble…I promise, I will hold off on the sarcasm with a little satire sprinkled on top.
Elmira, it is obvious that you feel that people who don’t share your opinion are wrong? How is that any different? Except that JL defends his or her opinion. Or did I miss your response to JRHolt’s question?
Gave up your gun and I’ll be safe anyway and so will you.
MOAR GUNZ!!!