"The next twelve months will be an especially dangerous time for Americans who treasure our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms," warns Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Justice Department (DoJ). As The Hill reports, his warning, in a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch, follows a threat to block President Obama's executive order on guns by defunding the DoJ.
The following letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch from Rep. John Culberson (R-Texas), chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Justice Department, clearly warns against enforcing the 'new' gun restrictions.
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Culberson went on to add:
"I have formally notified Attorney General Lynch that I will aggressively protect our Second Amendment rights using Congress' power of the purse...
I notified the attorney general that if the Department of Justice attempted to create new restrictions on our Constitutional rights that I would use every tool at my disposal to immediately restrict their access to federal funding.”
As The Hill continues, Culberson appears to be the first Republican to call to block DOJ funding over the executive action on guns.
In future budget agreements, House appropriators could specifically prohibit the Justice Department from enforcing the gun restrictions without defunding the entire agency.
Culberson warned Lynch not to “create new law” in his letter.
“The House Appropriations Committee will not provide resources to your department for the development or implementation of unlawful limitations on the unambiguous Second Amendment rights of Americans,” Culberson wrote.
Culberson’s letter follows harsh words that Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had for the Obama administration earlier Monday.
He accused Obama of “subverting” Congress by taking executive action on gun control.
“We all are pained by the recent atrocities in our country, but no change the president is reportedly considering would have prevented them,” Ryan said.
As President Obama prepares to address the nation at 1120ET to explain how everyone will be safer if applications for gun use are made more onerous, one can't help but wonder if Culberson would actually follow-through on his threats... and if not what kind of reaction "we, the people" will have.