HR 3999 is the worst piece of firearm legislation in my lifetime and the Republicans who drafted it should be ashamed of themselves. It is an example of the United States Congress surrendering its responsibility to an unaccountable bureaucracy such as the ATF. It does absolutely nothing to prevent evil people from performing evil acts of murder. All it does is punish those of us who already legally own or may wish to own a semi-automatic rifle.

In the summary of this legislation it states,

"…to prohibit the manufacture, possession, or transfer of any part or combination of parts that is designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but does not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun, and for other purposes."

"…any part or combination of parts…" Really!? That kind of vague wording could be interpreted by ATF to include nearly every part of my legally owned rifle. The flash hider, the hand guard, the specially designed barrel, the quick detach sling, the adjustable stock, the custom trigger, the selector switch, the magazine well, etc, etc. Nearly every part of the modern semi-automatic rifle is specifically designed to make it more efficient to use and, therefore, increase the rate of fire. This legislation is written in a way that would allow the ATF to create rules making every law-abiding rifle owner in America a felon simply for possessing what is today a legally owned firearm. Is that the goal of this Congress? To turn law-abiding citizens into felons with the stroke of a pen?

Are you really prepared to fill our prison system with law-abiding Christian fathers and husbands just because they own a modern rifle?

As an American citizen who once took an oath to defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, I demand that our elected officials live up to their own oath by rejecting this legislation and prevent it from coming to a vote. The Constitution is very clear when it comes to our civil right to keep and bear arms, "…shall not be infringed."