A “weaponized” governmental agency could potentially block all gun sales and transfers, first-term Rep. Madison Cawthorn, R-N.C., warned in a Newsmax TV interview after a pair of gun-control measures passed the House of Representatives on Thursday.
“They have extraordinarily benign names,” Cawthorn said on “American Agenda.” “They sound like something that makes sense, but when you start a deep dig down into these bills – which is why I’m so disgusted by the way Democrats have been pushing these bills through Congress without giving people enough time to read them to the American people to understand them – (No.) 1, neither of these bills would stop either of these horrific shootings that happened and they’re saying they want to stop, specifically the one that happened in Charleston.
“(No.) 2, if the FBI was ever to become weaponized, or the (Department of Justice) was ever to become weaponized by a political party – or an administrative branch, they would then be able to hold up the purchase and transfer of a firearm indefinitely if they so chose. This is something we cannot allow to happen.”
The 25-year-old Cawthorn, the youngest member of the House of Representatives, decried the two bills, one of which would require extending the federal background check on commercial firearm sales to the purchase or loan of any weapon, including those among friends and family members.
The other would extend the waiting period to purchase a weapon from three to 10 days, or indefinitely if the FBI chose.
“Expanding the background check timeline to where normally it (would) sunset that if you cannot get through the background check the FBI or whatever agency is conducting the background check, if they can get through the background check within three days, you should get your firearm – makes sense. It’s your constitutional right," Cathorn said.
He added: “But now, they’re saying they want to extend it to 10 days. Again, it doesn’t sound so devilish on its surface. But once you start to dig down into it, you can see that the Democrats have a provision within there, where they then could say, ‘Oh, well we need an extension on this, and there’s no sunsetting laws on that and you may never, ever be able to get your firearm.”
Cawthorn’s objection to requiring the background check on the private sale or transfer of a pistol or rifle stemmed from what he said was the government dictating what he could do with private property.
“In North Carolina, it’s not too uncommon to share a firearm with somebody: you have a buddy who’s going hunting and you might not have a high enough caliber rifle to take down a bear or a large piece of game," Cawthorn said. "It’s very normal for me to loan them out my 6.5mm Creedmoor. Or my young friend who’s dealing with an abusive ex-husband who’s coming around; she doesn’t have time to wait to be able to defend herself, then you can loan her a pistol.
“This is something that’s very common in North Carolina and in most of America. But then the Democrats would then say that if you loan that firearm out, that you are a criminal.”
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