The nation does not need stricter gun laws and any push by President Barack Obama to invoke executive privilege and force new restrictions will likely be fought in the Supreme Court, Rep. Ted Poe says.
“We don’t need more gun laws but we should enforce the ones that we have to make sure that people who should not obtain firearms don’t,’’ Poe, who represents Texas’s 2nd congressional district, told Newsmax TV in an exclusive interview.
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“Passing more laws will not solve the problem that people claim is the issue in our country.’’
Poe, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said he believes that while the Second Amendment — the right to bear arms — is clear, the White House has a habit of trying to “circumvent the law."
“They’re going to attempt to do that in spite of the Constitution. But they might have a fight on their hands and I don’t think they will win that fight.’’
Poe, who has the endorsement of the National Rifle Association, said that in his 22 years as a judge, “I never tried a gun, I always tried people who used guns, and personal accountability is the issue here.
“For some reason the left thinks the gun is the problem, not people are the problem … [I will] be very skeptical of any so-called executive orders they’ll want to try to tighten up what the left thinks are answers to the violence in our country.’’
Poe points to Mexico and its infamous bursts of bloody violence that constantly make the news as one example of why banning guns won’t work.
“Mexico is not a safe country, it’s a violent country and one reason is people in Mexico cannot protect themselves,’’ he said.
“They have the toughest gun laws in our hemisphere, [but] you can’ even own one there.’’
Poe said current gun laws must be enforced and that strict penalties for crimes involving firearms be meted out.
“We need to make sure that when a gun is used in a commission of a crime that the punishment is automatically worse, more severe, than if a gun was not used,’’ he said, adding the laws now on the books “are excellent laws, we just need to enforce them.
“But people will continue to commit crimes and they will use whatever method that they wish to use to further their goal of hurting people, whether it’s a gun, a club, or a car."
Poe said increased efforts for gun control on the state level — such as what New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing — can’t really work.
“The Second Amendment applies to all Americans. States cannot limit the second Amendment,’’ he said.
“So whether you’re in New York, California, or Texas, state law cannot infringe on your individual American Second Amendment right. So Cuomo making a lot of conversation, but he cannot limit the Second Amendment even if he wants to.’’
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