October 9, 1997

The Honorable Henry J. Hyde
Chairman
House Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Bill McCollum
Chairman
House Committee on the Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime
207 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Hyde and Subcommittee Chairman McCollum,

We write to you today to respectfully request that the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime hold a hearing on H.R. 1009, the States' Rights and Second and Tenth Amendment Restoration Act.

We have always stated that our top priority in Congress is to uphold the Constitution and to protect the basic and fundamental rights of all citizens. In order to protect our freedoms, we must enact H.R. 1009 and repeal the so-called Lautenberg Amendment, authored by Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, which bans firearm ownership of any person convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense.

Although well-intentioned, there are serious problems with the Lautenberg Amendment. First, the Amendment penalizes Americans who have already faced justice, and paid their dues to society for their crime. Second, it runs roughshod over the rights of states and judicial discretion in assessing the appropriate penalties on a case by case basis. Next, it constitutes an unfunded federal mandate by passing the enormous cost of enforcing this provision along to the city, county, and state police offices. This is a federal intrusion and should be governed by the state and not mandated by the federal government, as interpreted by United States v. Lopez and Printz v. United States. Furthermore, the Amendment violates due process and constitutes an ex post facto law because it retroactively imposes a criminal penalty on crimes committed before it was enacted into law. Finally, we know you will agree that this is a bad way to pass any sort of legislation. Senator Lautenberg's amendment was slipped in with no hearings or debate in the House into a 2,000 page appropriations bill that we doubt few Members had a chance to fully read and understand the consequences before voting on the bill.

We want to be clear, we abhor domestic violence and believe that spousal and child abuse has no place in our society. However, this amendment has actually had the effect of disarming many women who need protection from abusive spouses. Many police departments require officers to charge both parties in a domestic dispute, even if there is no sign of violence and neither party wants to press charges. Some of these cases are uncontested, with both parties paying a simple misdemeanor fine in order to put the incident behind them.

In addition, according to a recent study by the Utah Department of Public Safety, firearms were only used in three percent of all domestic violence cases. On the other hand, personal weapons, i.e. hands, feet, and teeth, were used in eighty-six percent of domestic violence cases. Therefore, the Lautenberg Amendment clearly falls short of its goal of protecting abused spouses and children by banning a weapon that is used in a minute number of instances.

Mr. Chairman, support for H.R. 1009 is growing each and every day. Groups such as the Idaho Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, Concerned Women for America, the Western States Sheriffs' Association, the Idaho Sheriffs' Association, the Home School Legal Defense Association, Frontiers of Freedom, Law Enforcement Alliance of America, Women Against Gun Control, and Safety for Women and Responsible Motherhood have all expressed their belief that this bi-partisan bill is the best way to fix the unintended consequences of the Lautenberg Amendment.

We are aware that hearings have been held on H.R. 26 by Congressman Bob Barr and H.R. 445 by Congressman Bart Stupak, but we believe it is well worth the Subcommittee's time and resources to hear from all sides of this issue. We look forward to the opportunity to further educate and inform the Subcommittee of the importance of this matter. Thank you for your attention to our request.

Sincerely,

Helen Chenoweth
Tom Coburn
Virgil Goode
Mike Crapo
Don Young
Joe Skeen
Ron Paul
Larry Combest
Barbara Cubin
"Mac" Thornberry