The Second Amendment is not a suggestion. It is a constitutional right enshrined into law by our Founding Fathers, but Democrats across the nation have made it their mission to strip that right away.

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger just signed legislation making it illegal to sell, purchase, or manufacture certain types of firearms in her state — without question infringing on citizens’ constitutional rights. If Democrats had their way, Missouri and the rest of the country would follow suit. This is not just a Virginia problem. This is the Democrat agenda: strip law-abiding Americans of their right to defend themselves, one state at a time.

In Southeast and South Central Missouri, the Second Amendment is not up for debate. It’s a way of life. It’s the farmer who keeps a rifle by the door to protect his cattle. It’s the family that makes lasting memories hunting together, passing down a tradition as old as our nation. It’s the single mother in Shannon County who relies on her right to defend herself and her family because the nearest law enforcement may be 30 minutes away. The people of Missouri don’t need a politician like Abigail Spanberger telling them what firearms they’re allowed to own — and they never will.

The radical Left wants you to believe that owning a firearm makes you a threat, but we know that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a reason our Founding Fathers enshrined this right in the Constitution. What Spanberger signed in Virginia is not a public safety measure. It’s government overreach that punishes law-abiding citizens while criminals and bad actors who already disregard the law remain armed.

While Democrats are busy taking rights away, Republicans have been focused on protecting and expanding them. Through the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, for the first time in a century, we eliminated a tax the Second Amendment — a financial penalty on law-abiding gun owners that had no business existing in the first place. This was the most significant legislative victory for law-abiding gun owners in a generation, and I was proud to deliver that win for folks in Missouri and across the nation. To top it off, President Trump signed it into law on Independence Day, which couldn’t have been more appropriate.

What’s more, Republicans are fighting to ensure the Second Amendment rights of veterans go untouched. The Veterans 2^nd Amendment Protection Act would stop unelected bureaucrats from stripping away a veteran’s constitutional rights without due process or a ruling from the judge.

Additionally, next week I plan to support legislation on the House floor that would prevent administrative employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs from taking away veterans’ firearms if the VA appoints a fiduciary to help them manage their VA benefits. Veterans should have the same rights as every other Americans to maintain access to firearms, and administrative employees shouldn’t be able to deny Second Amendment rights or due process to men and women who have put risked everything in defense of our country.

The difference between the two parties is more obvious now than ever. Democrats want to disarm you. Republicans believe in your right to be armed. I will always stand with the hunters, the farmers, the sportsmen, and every law-abiding citizen who chooses to practice their God-given, constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. What happened in Virginia is a warning, but I will continue to fight every single day in Washington to make sure it never becomes federal law.