Metro East Sun

Illinois state Rep. Kevin Schmidt (R-Cahokia Heights) says that Pres. Joe Biden's vow to impose a ban on assault weapons is an affront to the U.S. Constitution. 

According to The Center Square, since taking over at the White House, Pres. Biden has moved to enact several executive actions pushing the boundaries of his Constitutional authority, including imposing an eviction moratorium and COVID mandates, prompting legal challenges and rulings crafted to rein in his pushing agenda. He recently came under fire for pledging to ban assault weapons. 

Metro East Sun reached out to Rep. Schmidt for his opinion on the president's vow to ban assault weapons. Schmidt responded by saying that such actions would be unconstitutional. 

"I took the oath of office for the first time in January of this year. I, like Joe Biden and JB Pritzker, took an oath to uphold our Constitution. That is an oath I take seriously," Schmidt said. "I just wish all of our elected leaders would also take their oath of office as seriously as I do. The Constitution guarantees our right to bear arms. Elected leaders have no right to overrule the Constitution. We are a nation of laws. Everyone, including Governors and Presidents, is subject to these laws."

Schmidt believes that gun owners should make their voices heard to ensure that their constitutional rights to bear arms remains protected.

"One of the reasons I won my election is because I am a supporter of the Second Amendment. Honest firearms owners in the 114th sent a message loud and clear in this last election," Schmidt said. "What we need is more people who support the Second Amendment to get involved and hold their elected leaders accountable just as they did in the race for State Representative in the 114th District."

Schmidt concluded by reiterating his support for the second amendment. 

"Gun control is hitting the target. I am a gun owner and a strong supporter of our Second Amendment rights," Schmidt said.

Center Square reports that back in January, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chris Murphy, (D-CT), introduced the “Assault Weapons Ban,” which would “ban the sale, transfer, manufacture and importation of military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and other high-capacity ammunition feeding devices.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has bolstered gun rights by taking steps to strike down a New York gun law that required residents to prove they had “proper cause” to receive a permit to carry a firearm outside the home with Chief Justice John Roberts writing that the court “recognized that the Second and Fourteenth Amendments protect the right of an ordinary, law-abiding citizen to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense.”