As Hunter Biden’s criminal trial kicked off this week, a broad spectrum of House members sounded off on U.S. gun laws and how they are enforced.
While lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seemed to agree that gun laws should be enforced, they were divided on whether certain firearms restrictions or related policies should be codified into law in the first place.
In an interview on Capitol Hill with Fox News Digital, Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., said that instead of drafting new restrictions, people would be better off if all the laws already in place were enforced.
“[A] little birdie told me that there’s over 20,000 gun laws in America today. So here’s a novel idea: let’s just enforce those,” he said.
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Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference. ( Tom Williams via Getty Images)
Bean also brought up that Biden, who is currently facing charges in Delaware in connection with allegations he lied on a federal firearms purchase form, in attesting that he was not partaking in controlled substances at the time. Biden’s gun was later reportedly tossed in a trash receptacle not far from Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville, Delaware.
“If you lie on a gun form or you’re not allowed to have a gun. Those are the ones that need to be enforced,” Bean said.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., a gun owner himself, offered a similar defense of proverbial “common-sense” gun laws. He said that first-degree felonies that involve firearms are already outlawed, which is why there is no need for new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners.
The other issue leading to increases in gun crime may not have to do with the presence of gun laws, but instead in what Van Drew called “turnstile justice.”
“[That’s] where somebody commits a crime, and they’re out very rapidly back into the area that they came from. That’s what’s wrong. They should get a sentence. If you hurt somebody with a gun – if you murder somebody – if you commit physical violence with a gun, then you should go to jail. And you should be there for a long time – not good, law-abiding people who own guns,” he said.
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Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., said there is only one gun law that matters.
“I believe that the Second Amendment should be strictly enforced and adhered to,” she said.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, echoed that sentiment.
“Obviously, any law ought to be enforced, but [gun laws] are a very controversial area – I’m a strong defender of the Second Amendment and, you know, generally think that’s an important thing to defend,” Cole said.
Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., offered a different view than some of his Republican colleagues, saying that assault weapons restrictions are extremely important when it comes to the overall discussion of gun control legislation.
“Given the number of deaths… I think they should be severely enforced,” he said.
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., of the Philadelphia area, added that there are too many weapons in the hands of people whom the public at-large agree should not have them.
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Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon speaks in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. (Mark Makela/Getty)
Scanlon called for federal universal background checks and for law enforcement to be better equipped to enforce such laws.
Rep. James Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, echoed many of the other lawmakers, telling Fox News Digital that all gun laws ought to be enforced.
“Because, you know, if gun laws aren’t enforced, more bad people have guns and do bad things with those guns.”
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Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, said it is a simple fact that any law passed by Congress should rightly be enforced and is “good for the country.”
“Now, we’ve got to make sure we don’t take the Second Amendment away from the people of this country,” he added, saying it is the Democratic Party that is trying to do just that.
Williams said he has bills filed in the current Congress that push back against left-wing attempts to restrict the Second Amendment.
Williams said laws are unfortunately broken all the time, and quipped that the Biden administration has been one entity “breaking laws everywhere,” while adding that the Second Amendment must be strongly protected no matter the party.
“In many cases, it is the most important amendment we’ve got.”