The Second Amendment is the original homeland security act!
So I am really proud to stand here before you tonight as an NRA member for the past 15 years, and as ------ ------ -------, a state in my opinion that has become a model for Second Amendment protection.
We have done this in two ways.
First, we have focused on punishing habitual criminals, particularly criminals who use guns in the commission of crimes. We' ve done that by passing laws like 10-20-Life, an idea that was clearly stolen by your' s truly from the guy out in California. And we stole it lock, stock and barrel without being embarrassed about it. We passed the law, and today gun violence has dropped by 25% in the last four years, because now people are put away for a long period of time.
In fact, because of the strategy that started before I became Governor and has continued on, we now have the lowest crime rate in the last 30 years. But we have also ... focused on protecting the Second Amendment by expanding the rights of law-abiding gun owners.
In the last four years, we have passed a Right-to-Carry reciprocity bill. We already had the Right- to-Carry law.
We have passed a law to protect sport shooting ranges in our state from issues related to land use decisions at the local level. We have passed a bill restricting lawsuits against lawful firearm manufacturers; no longer can cities, municipalities, preempt, or litigate.
And today our Agriculture Commissioner, is the person in charge of the Concealed Firearm Licensing Bureau, which I think is important that this be in the hands of an elected official.
But perhaps more than all of the laws we have passed, our most important contribution to the Second Amendment may be Marion Hammer.
Marion, I want to wish you a happy birthday. She is a tiger!
With Marion' s proper guidance, this year we didn' t pass any bills, because I think we have done everything. We have done everything haven' t we?
There' s not much left to do, but I now that if there is a problem that comes up or an issue that needs to be resolved in order to protect the Second Amendment in our state, I will hear from Marion, and we will get to work and be sure that whatever problem there is will be resolved.
Finally, let me just tell you how grateful I am for your continued involvement in the political process. We are living in wondrous times. They are scary for some. They are certainly difficult for many, as we are suffering a bit through a down-turn in our economy, but at the same time, I do believe that there is a spirit of optimism that does exist.
Perhaps it is because of the confidence people have in their government and their Commander in Chief and their President, but also I think because we are a country of individuals and families that truly do believe in our traditions and truly do believe in our liberties and freedoms. The intellectuals out there, not intellectuals, but the opinion leaders, may try to tell us otherwise, but I think the good common sense of the American people is alive and well.
It is great to be an American in 2003, and I encourage you, I really encourage you to continue to stay involved in the political process.
Don' t let people push you back. Don' t let people tell you that it is not right for you all to continue to be active.
Without your involvement the void will be filled by some other group with a cause that may not be one that we share.
Congratulations on an incredible successful period of time in the life of the NRA. God bless you all, and God bless our great country.
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