Paul, Massie discuss gun rights in Senate hearing

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WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said Wednesday that there are “growing threats” by the government to restrict gun rights.

What You Need To Know

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Wednesday that there are "growing threats" by the government to restrict gun rights

Paul is head of the Senate Homeland Security Committee

He led a hearing on the Second Amendment on Capitol Hill Wednesday

Paul's political ally, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Crescent Springs, testified before the committee about legislation

Leading a hearing on the Second Amendment, Paul criticized comments made by FBI Director Kash Patel and other officials after a federal officer in Minnesota shot and killed Alex Pretti, who was licensed to carry a concealed weapon.

“A succession of federal officials rushed to declare that citizens cannot exercise their First and Second Amendment rights at the same time,” said Paul. “Administration officials stated, ‘You cannot bring a firearm loaded with multiple magazines to any sort of protest that you want. It’s that simple.’”

Appearing before Paul and the rest of the panel was his political ally, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Crescent Springs, head of the House Second Amendment Caucus.

Massie talked about several pieces of legislation he has introduced related to the Second Amendment, including a bill that would lower the minimum age to buy guns from a federally licensed dealer.

“I think it’s somewhat ridiculous that you can be conscripted to serve your country in a war, you can be 18, 19 or 20 and forced into service to fight for your country, but you can’t defend your own family with a handgun that you bought at a licensed dealer, so we should repeal this federal restriction,” said Massie.

The top Democrat on the committee, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, said he was “troubled” by the topic of the hearing and pointed to other concerns he said were more pressing, like President Donald Trump conducting military action without congressional approval.

“The Second Amendment is one of many such liberties that are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, and while there are maybe some discrete examples where the right has been tested, the Second Amendment is simply not under the same threat as so many of our other constitutional rights today,” Peters said.