Too often the mainstream-media’s bias dictates who we are supposed to believe is offering the most-sensible solutions to stopping mass murderers and violent gang members. As you’ll see in this interview with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), he has led the way with policies that don’t infringe on our constitutional freedom, but that do help stop violent people before they act. As America votes this November 5, it’s worth considering how the best policies are often not the ones the mainstream media prefers.
A1F: As a well-known civil libertarian—you, after all, have an A+ rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund for your work in Congress to protect our individual right to keep and bear arms—how critical, with regard to our Second Amendment freedom, do you think this November’s election will be?
Hudson: Second Amendment rights are critical in every election, and this year is no different. The Democrat Party has an anti-Second Amendment candidate at the top of the ticket who believes in a mandatory gun “buyback,” opposes the right of law-abiding citizens to carry concealed and supports a full “assault-weapons” ban. Those views are now normal in the national Democratic Party.
A1F: Can you explain your role as the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee?
Hudson: My main priority as NRCC Chair is to put our candidate campaigns in the best possible position to win in November. We are putting together robust operations across the country to not only keep the House, but to expand the majority. Given the failures of the Biden-Harris administration, we have an opportunity to compete in districts that have been out of reach for decades.
A1F: You introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act (H.R. 38) to guarantee our Second Amendment right to self-defense doesn’t disappear when we cross state lines. Will you keep fighting for this critical legislation?
Hudson: Yes. I have introduced this bill in every Congress for the past 10 years. We were successful in 2017 with six House Democrats voting for it but were unable to get a vote in the Senate. I was a cosponsor of a similar bill, the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2013, in the 113th Congress as a first-term Congressman. I will continue to advocate for this common-sense legislation until it is finally signed into law. I am hopeful that next Congress, with a Republican House and Senate and President Trump back in the White House, we can finally get it done.
A1F: You have opposed due-process-infringing “red-flag” laws, you have stood against so-called “green-tip” bullet bans and you have spoken out against attempts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to sidestep Congress by effectively writing gun-control laws. Are you surprised with how frequent and creative the attacks on this basic constitutionally protected right have been?
Hudson: Absolutely. In Congress, I have led the fight to keep red-flag provisions that strip away due process from law-abiding gun owners out of any legislation, especially those targeting our service members and veterans. We see attacks on our basic Second Amendment rights nonstop from the Biden administration. Just this year, we’ve seen this administration try to limit the commercial export of firearms, reclassify stabilizing braces used by combat- disabled veterans that allow them to safely participate in recreational shooting, track lawful gun purchases and even try to defund schools who offer hunting and archery classes. On each of these radical proposals, I have led legislation and letters to put a stop to it. Most recently, the House and Senate passed my bill to ensure the Biden administration can never prevent funds to schools who offer hunting and archery classes, and I am glad that policy is now law.
“We see attacks on our basic Second Amendment rights nonstop from the Biden administration.” –Rep. Richard Hudson
A1F: Though the mainstream
media has not given you credit for this, you’ve backed and proposed a lot of solutions designed to make our streets and schools safer. Can you explain what Congress can and should do to make America as safe as it can be?
Hudson: I have a son in elementary school. School safety is a top priority for me. That’s why I’ve repeatedly introduced legislation to make our schools safer, and even had some of those proposals signed into law. We need to address the problem before someone reaches a breaking point. That means hiring more school-resource officers and more mental-health guidance counselors; providing training to law enforcement, school officials and students; providing funding for technology and equipment like metal detectors, locks and lighting to improve school security; and researching the root causes of violence, including the impact and effectiveness of grants received by schools. President Trump also signed legislation that I wrote in 2018 to strengthen and improve reporting to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS). One common denominator in most mass shootings is a troubled young person. In almost every case, it is widely known that this individual is troubled but proper intervention to help them never happens. These tragedies can be prevented.
A1F: The Biden-Harris administration has been weaponizing federal agencies against gun manufacturers, gun stores and individual Americans. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Chevron decision should help to reign in these agencies, but what role can Congress play to make sure that agencies under a hostile administration can’t undermine our individual right to keep and bear arms?
Hudson: The Chevron decision is a game-changer because before, it said D.C. bureaucrats have the final say in what congressional intent was, not the actual authors of the legislation. This was ridiculous. I’ve mentioned just a few of the efforts this administration is trying to impose through rulemaking, like tracking lawful gun purchases, limiting the commercial export of firearms and reclassifying stabilizing braces used by combat-disabled veterans that allow them to safely participate in recreational shooting. When I saw the Biden administration’s Department of Education propose a rule to block schools from receiving federal funding if they offer hunting and archery classes, I wasted no time writing to the administration demanding they stop it. When nothing was done, I introduced legislation with my colleague, Mark Green, to block the rule. The House and Senate swiftly took this up and it was signed into law. This will ensure that no administration will ever be able to limit our Second Amendment rights by defunding schools.
A1F: Given that there are over 22 million new gun owners since the 2020 election, that the NRA has won several times recently in the U.S. Supreme Court, and that, across the nation, Americans have rallied behind this right, are you hopeful about the future of this critical freedom?
Hudson: I am very hopeful. The crime, distrust and pure fear caused by the Biden administration’s extreme agenda the last four years has led to even the most-liberal Americans purchasing firearms for their protection. These law-abiding gun owners, along with so many others fighting to defend our Second Amendment rights, will not be silenced. I will continue to make their voices heard in Congress.
