Democrats Claim Omnibus Gun Confiscation Secures Southern Border

Democrats Claim Omnibus Gun Confiscation Secures Southern Border

Included in the FY 2023 Appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security, there was funding included to secure the Southern Border of the United States. Democrats in the Senate proposed a program to ensure the top priority for U.S. border control was satisfied and well-funded.

According to the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Homeland Security, Senator Chris Murphy:

This bill is a reasonable compromise, and I’m proud of the investments it would make in the responsible management of our border… Also, for the first time ever, this bill includes dedicated funding to stop the flow of illegal firearms going south across our border. It’s time for Republicans to step up and get our government off endless, hurtful continuing resolutions, and I look forward to working across the aisle to get this done.”

The program entitled “Disrupting the Flow of Drugs and Firearms” is exclusively targeted towards traffic heading South on the border, from the United States into Mexico. The program’s “dedicated funding is provided to build outbound operations at land ports of entry with the goal of identifying and seizing firearms.”

An additional $60,000,000 to secure the border will be spent to hire 125 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and mission support staff to make sure nothing crosses the border from the United States into the sovereign United Mexican States.

Will Sen. Murphy’s Border Security Program Catch ATF Agents?

Unfortunately, one of the major exporters of illegal firearms across our Southern border was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Under the “leadership” of President Barrack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, an operation entitled “Fast and Furious” was carried out in which guns were transferred to Mexican drug cartels with the help of the ATF.

Many died as a result of Fast and Furious, where illegal guns flowed over the southern border of the U.S. into Mexico, which makes it much worse than even Watergate where no one died. Fast and Furious has led to the deaths of more than 200 Mexicans and at least one U.S. federal agent.

Notably, Operation Fast & Furious was intended to help the administration justify calls for a new gun registration scheme, called “Demand Letters 3” or multiple sale reports, which was eventually implemented (illegally and without Congressional authority) in southwestern border states.[i]

Fortunately for the American people, however, a pro-gun rider was included in the Omnibus bill[ii] text to ensure that:

None of the funds… may be used by a Federal law enforcement officer to facilitate the transfer of an operable firearm to an individual if the Federal law enforcement officer knows or suspects that the individual is an agent of a drug cartel, unless law enforcement personnel of the United States continuously monitor or control the firearm at all times.

Of course, this language has been retained in every appropriations package since 2011[iii] because of gun owners who didn’t want to see drug cartels using firearms sold at gun stores to kill Mexicans and Americans. So clearly, Senator Chris Murphy’s border control program is quite misguided. A better use of time and money would be to encourage Americans to exercise their Second Amendment right to self-defense against the drug cartels and gangs which are contributing to skyrocketing violent crime in the US in recent years.


You can help GOA on Capitol Hill by picking up the phone and calling your House representative and telling them to vote no on this Omnibus gun control package at (202) 224-3121!


[i]Obama Administration Still Trying to Cover up Fast & Furious”. Gun Owners of America. October 18th, 2012.

[ii] Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 2617. Division B. Title II, SEC. 215. Senate Committee on Appropriations. 209-210.

[iii] Velleco. “Amendment to End “Fast and Furious” Passes Senate”. Gun Owners of America. October 11th, 2011.