Dems Join GOP in Overwhelming House Vote for Legislative Smackdown of Biden's Anti-2A Plot
President Joe Biden is beating a hasty retreat from his administration’s policy of taking shooting and archery courses away from high school students.
The White House said Thursday that Biden will sign a bill that reversed a Department of Education decision, according to Fox News. The bill cleared the Senate unanimously on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, in a 424-1 vote, the House approved what was called the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act. There were 216 Republicans and 208 Democrats voting for the bill, according to Fox News.
Democratic Rep. Veronica Escobar of Texas was the only lawmaker to oppose the House vote.
In a move that matches Wyoming’s lead, Congress has overwhelmingly passed a measure to protect funding for school hunter education and archery programs, which is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden.https://t.co/Hynk9WvCnJ
— Cowboy State Daily (@daily_cowboy) September 29, 2023
In July, the Education Department issued guidance saying that hunting and archery programs in schools violated the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
In the guidance, senior agency official Sarah Martinez wrote that archery, hunter education and wilderness safety courses use weapons that are “technically dangerous weapons” and therefore “may not be funded under” the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
Lawmakers from the House and Senate denounced the decision as they passed the legislation that undid the work of the bureaucrats.
“The Biden administration’s shameful and deliberate misinterpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act has jeopardized students’ access to educational enrichment programs like hunting and archery,” Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Wednesday, according to Fox News.
“This legislation would ensure these valuable programs remain available in schools across the country, and I urge the President to immediately sign it into law and right this egregious wrong,” he said.
Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who along with Cornyn and Independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema authored the Senate bill, said the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, before it was twisted by the Education Department, was “a good faith effort to provide historic funding for mental health, harden safety at schools across the country, and reduce violence while protecting the Second Amendment rights of every law-abiding American,” according to comments posted on his website.
“The Biden Administration’s partisan interpretation of BSCA to eliminate hunting education in schools is a slap in the face to millions of Americans, particularly in rural areas, and discourages future bipartisan cooperation in Congress when an administration acts in bad faith when implementing laws. I want to thank my colleagues in Congress for quickly passing this legislation,” he said.
Congress can sometimes act fast! Senate tonight passed bill to restore funding to school archery and hunting programs, an unintended consequence from the ‘22 gun law. The ban divided dems. Bill already passed the House & goes to Biden’s desk.
Back story:https://t.co/2QkR5GLCmg— Jennifer Haberkorn (@jenhab) September 27, 2023
Over in the House, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee said connecting young people with the outdoors is important, according to Fox News.
“Hunters and fishers are the best conservationists. Hunting, whether it be with a firearm or bow, is one of the most effective ways to control wildlife populations, protect our beautiful lands, and connect with nature. My Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act is critical for our children,” he said.
Lawrence Keane, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s senior vice president, had accused Biden administration officials of “blatantly misconstruing the law to withhold funding from schools that choose to teach beneficial courses like hunter safety and archery.”
“Congress must hold Secretary Cardona and the department accountable for violating the letter and spirit of the law to unilaterally deny America’s students access to these valuable programs as part of the Administration’s continued attacks on the Second Amendment,” Keane said.
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