Second Amendment Rights

Floor Speech

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Mrs. NOEM. Well, thank you. I appreciate that, and I thank the gentlelady from Missouri for her leadership on this issue.

You know, people sacrificed for the rights that we have. The Constitution is so important to me. It's important to the people of South Dakota and to my family, and the Second Amendment is very dear to our heritage.

That's why I wanted to come to the floor today, because I wanted to talk about how the Constitution guarantees us the individual's right to keep and bear arms. That's why I strongly support the Second Amendment.

This right isn't abstract to me. It's part of my family's heritage, and it's my State's culture. I am a gun owner and a member of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus. I'll continue to fight and defend this right for the people of South Dakota and for our way of life.

You know, the Second Amendment has been described in many different ways over the years, such as it is there to support our natural rights of self-defense. It is there for resistance of oppression. It even was described as a civic duty to act in concert in the defense of the State. These are all reasons that we need to make sure that we are continuously talking about the benefits of this right, what it means to mothers and fathers who are protecting their families, and what it means to us growing up in a country where people sacrificed, bled and died to protect the rights that we had.

You know, growing up in South Dakota, I've always had an enormous amount of respect and appreciation for the outdoors and for hunting. If you aren't familiar with South Dakota, I'll tell you that hunting is a very important part of it. It's one of our greatest traditions and ways of life across the State.

I grew up hunting and taking hunting trips--sometimes for weeks on end, one- or two-week trips to the mountains to hunt with my dad and my brothers. It was good family quality time. We had a lot of conversations while we were enjoying the outdoors.

The first person that taught me how to hunt and to carry a gun correctly was my grandmother. She and I and her black lab BJ would go out and spend hours together. It was during those times that she not only taught me the proper way to handle a firearm and to enjoy the wildlife, but also life lessons that I don't think I would have gotten if I hadn't spent that much time with her in the outdoors enjoying that heritage.

This belief in the Second Amendment is critically important to South Dakotans, and I certainly appreciate the fact that I had the opportunity to enjoy it. Now I have the chance with my own kids and with my husband, Brian.

Opening day of pheasant season is always big in South Dakota. It's a family reunion, but obviously there are many, many friends that show up for that as well. It starts with a big breakfast. We all gather together for good entertainment and conversation until it's time to go out and start enjoying the day together. It's a tradition that we don't want to lose. Every year, sportsmen and -women flock to South Dakota to enjoy this tradition and take advantage of our State's abundance of hunting and wildlife.

I want to give you a few facts about South Dakota. With over 700,000 acres of public hunting land, South Dakota is home to the Nation's best pheasant hunting, and it's the pheasant hunting capital of the world. In fact, last year, pheasant hunters were able to put 1.55 million roasters in their game bags.

In 2011 alone, the pheasant hunting season had an economic impact of over $225 million to our State. It's our number two industry as tourism, and a big part of that happens during the hunting season. A majority of the money spent from that $225 million comes in from out-of-state visitors.

Hunting and maintaining a healthy habitat for wildlife is one of the great things that I appreciate about South Dakota, and it's why I'm so proud to call it home.

During the debates that have occurred here in Washington, D.C., recently, I received many, many--thousands, actually--letters from South Dakotans. I just want to read a couple of excerpts from a couple of those if I have the chance.

The first one was from Kevin in Aberdeen. He said:

I urge you to oppose any and all antigun legislation that will simply penalize law-abiding gun owners. Instead, focus on improvements to our Nation's mental health system and enhancing school security, while respecting our Second Amendment rights.

Mike, who is also from Aberdeen, in talking about a bill that had been proposed said:

This is clearly the wrong answer for a real issue. Taking away a right that has been proven to save lives time and again is the wrong reason against obvious mental issues and security lapses.

The last one I want to touch on is from Greg. He says:

I agree that work needs to be done to keep weapons out of the hands of mentally ill individuals, but this isn't the answer. I regularly use a rifle that would be banned under some proposed legislation when controlling coyotes and the rabbit populations on my farm. I've also used the rifle for controlling prairie dog populations on other landowner property, in addition to hunting on public lands.

That's one of the things you don't talk about a lot. For many people in the middle of the country out in western South Dakota, they simply wouldn't be able to be in business anymore if they didn't have the opportunity to control predators that could wipe out their entire livestock herd. The Second Amendment guarantees them the right to have the ability to do that.

This is just a small glimpse into the traditions that we have in South Dakota and the heritage that gun ownership offers all of us.

I want to thank the gentlelady for giving me the opportunity to talk about that. The Second Amendment is critically important. It needs to be defended, and I was very proud to stand here and do that with you today.

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