Rep. Amash: McCarthy Homeland Security Bill Unconstitutional

A new homeland security bill introduced by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy contains a section on gun control that would infringe on several constitutional amendments, Michigan Republican Rep. Justin Amash warned on Twitter Sunday.

House Republicans are pushing a horrendous bill this week. The gun section alone infringes the 1st, 2nd, 5th & 6th Amendments. #StopHR5611

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 3, 2016

1/ If #HR5611 (vote this week) becomes law, it will mark a massive expansion of govt's restriction of gun rights on the basis of precrime.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 4, 2016

McCarthy's bill, the "Homeland Safety and Security Act," was introduced in response to House Democrats' sit-in staged after House Speaker Paul Ryan and other House Republicans would not advance a gun control package after the Orlando nightclub shootings last month. The stated purpose of the bill is to "prevent terrorists from launching attacks and obtaining passports, and for other purposes," but Amash lambasted it on Twitter:

2/ Under #HR5611, govt denies your gun rights not bc you committed or attempted a crime, but merely bc govt claims you'll act in the future.

— Justin Amash (@justinamash) July 4, 2016

Under the bill, the attorney general would be able to arrest and detain any person if there is probable cause to believe he or she has either committed, conspired, or attempted an act of terrorism. It would also establish the Office for Partnerships to Prevent Terrorism, a division in the Department of Homeland Security to combat radical Islamic terrorism.

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