Lummis leads bill to preserve Second Amendment rights for law-abiding Wyoming citizens

On Aug. 1, U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo) introduced legislation to shield law-abiding gun owners in Wyoming from what her office has called, “Democrats’ blatant Second Amendment infringements.”

According to the Senator’s Office, The Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act would protect the people of Wyoming’s right to own and use firearms for lawful purposes as well as preserve the nation’s firearms heritage by allowing museums and researchers to have access to a wide variety of weaponry to display for the public.

“Wyoming is home to some of the most impressive firearm museums in the country, yet the Biden-Harris administration’s latest attack on our Second Amendment rights threatens to limit museum’s access to certain historical weapons and make it harder to share these important parts of our history with other nations,” said Lummis. “The Second Amendment could not be clearer, and we have a responsibility to protect law-abiding Wyoming citizens and museums from this administration’s gun-grabbing policies.” 

“This critical legislation would serve as a firewall against future anti-gun administrations bypassing Congress and imposing gun control measures,” Executive Director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Randy Kozuch said. “Senator Lummis’ bill would also ensure that all lawful purposes, including self-defense, would have to be given due consideration and respect in the administration of federal law. On behalf of our millions of members nationwide, we thank Senator Lummis for taking the lead on these important and necessary reforms.”

“Not many people know that non-government museums are bound by firearms laws in the United States,” Professor of Law and Director of the Firearms Research Center at the University of Wyoming George Mocsary said. “As a result, many historically significant artifacts are destroyed because they cannot be legally possessed by non-governmental entities. No matter where one sits on the political debate regarding firearms, a desire to preserve our nation’s history should be universal. Artifacts connect us to a time and place and we learn, for better or worse, who we are, and who we want to be. It’s exciting to see a bill seeking to allow respected institutions to be stewards of those collections in perpetuity.” 

According to Lummis’ office, The Lawful Purpose and Historical Firearms Act would:

• Eliminate most restrictions in Federal firearms laws that require a “sporting purpose” to be legal, which is inconsistent with the Second Amendment.
• Require the federal government to allow firearms to be imported into the United States under most conditions, so long as they do not come from a country with which the United States has historically denied import licenses (e.g., an embargo).
• Enable the return of historical American firearms (like the M1 Garand) which were lent to foreign governments like Korea during the Cold War, allowing their eventual sale to veterans, shooting clubs and all Americans with an interest in these firearms. President Trump enabled the return of thousands of M1 Garands from the Philippines in 2018 after they were blocked by President Obama.
• Exempts museums from paying a transfer tax under the National Firearms Act on machine guns, suppressors, short-barreled rifles and other similar weapons so long as the firearm is intended for public display, research purposes or preservation as a historical artifact.
• Prevents shotguns, shotgun shells and certain other large-caliber rifles from being classified as “destructive devices” under the 1986 National Firearms Act by redefining their uses for “sporting purposes” and instead defining their use as “recognized as suitable for lawful purposes.”
• Eliminates the vast majority of import restrictions for most firearms (other than machine guns).
• Permits the temporary interstate loan or rental of a firearm for all lawful purposes.