Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Kustoff), the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the Protecting Religiously Affiliated Institutions Act of 2017 is a bill designed to address recent attacks on religious institutions. It amends the Church Arson Prevention Act to clarify that the act covers religious real property, such as religious community centers. It also increases the penalty for destruction of property offenses on religious property where the conduct results in more than $5,000 in damages to the property. This legislation is a direct response to the recent onslaught of bomb threats to various synagogues, mosques, churches, and religious community centers. In 2017, there have been more than 100 reported bomb threats against Jewish community centers, Jewish day schools, and other Jewish organizations and institutions in more than 38 States. Islamic centers and mosques have been burned in the States of Texas, Washington, and Florida. We must send the message that any attempt to instill fear in a religious community will not be tolerated. From its inception, our country has recognized that freedom of religion is a fundamental right. It is just as important to protect this right today, if not more so. We must continue to ensure that the American people can continue to practice their faith without obstruction. I commend Representative David Kustoff and Representative Derek Kilmer for introducing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this is good, bipartisan legislation to protect the religious freedom of people of all faiths. It is particularly important that we stand up at a time when some religious faiths are under particular pressure from those who would attempt to smother their ability to freely exercise their religious beliefs by intimidation. This legislation speaks strongly to that. Mr. Speaker, I thank Members on both sides of the aisle. I thank Mr. Kustoff, Mr. Kilmer, and others for their good work. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1730) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for the protection of community centers with religious affiliation, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 1730, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 645, I call up the bill (H.R. 38) to amend title 18, United States Code, to provide a means by which nonresidents of a State whose residents may carry concealed firearms may also do so in the State, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the chairman of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Rutherford), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds, and I include in the Record an article entitled, `` `Good Samaritan' Kills Active Shooter in Texas Sports Bar,'' in which a shooter with two guns and two knives entered a sports bar and was shot by an individual that the police labeled a Good Samaritan who happened to be eating at the restaurant with his wife. He was a concealed carry permit holder. He told his wife to get down on the ground, and then he shot the assailant. [From nbcnews.com, May 4, 2017] `Good Samaritan' Kills Active Shooter in Texas Sports Bar: Police (By Phil McCausland) A ``good Samaritan'' with a gun killed an active shooter who may have been gearing up for a deadly rampage at a Texas sports bar Wednesday night, police said. When 48-year-old James Jones walked inside the Zona Caliente Sports Bar, started yelling and then allegedly shot and killed Cesar Perez--a 37-year-old restaurant manager who'd attempted to calm him down--Arlington police said witnesses were afraid they would be next. In addition to the gun used to kill Perez, police say Jones had another semiautomatic pistol and two knives on him. The serial number on the second gun had been scratched off, and Jones did not have a gun license, police said. ``He definitely had the capacity, if he wanted, to commit further violence and potentially kill other patrons in the business,'' Arlington Police Lieutenant Chris Cook told NBC News, adding that it did not appear that the shooter knew his victim. An armed ``good Samaritan''--as the Arlington Police labeled him--happened to be eating at the restaurant with his wife. A concealed carry permit holder, he told her to get down on the ground and then shot Jones in the back. ``I don't think the shooter even knew where the rounds were coming from because he started shooting at the front door,'' Cook said, who described the scene as ``chaotic.'' Police reviewed video surveillance and pieced together the incident via witness interviews, but it remains unclear how many shots were fired by either individual. Police were looking into Jones' background to see whether he suffered from any mental illnesses and were awaiting test results to find out if he was under the influence. The man who took down Jones wished to maintain his anonymity, police said, noting that he felt overwhelmed but relieved that he prevented further violence. ``We're thankful that the good `Samaritan' acted quickly and decisively to end the threat,'' Cook said. ``We never recommend people get involved. That's a personal decision that a citizen has to make.'' Use of force and firearms expert Emanuel Kapelsohn told NBC News that, from his understanding, the man who took down the shooter reacted appropriately. ``I think it's to be applauded,'' he said. ``Not everybody in the world ought to own a gun. Not everybody in the world ought to carry a gun. Not everyone in the world ought to engage an armed criminal where innocent people could be potentially injured.'' ``But this good Samaritan obviously had the ability to do what he did,'' Kapelsohn added. ``Who knows how many people would be dead if he had not acted?''

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to point out that the attorney general of the State of Texas has signed a letter, along with 22 other State attorneys general, in support of this legislation and pointing out that authorized permit holders to carry across State lines will not result in an increased risk of crime. Further, strong evidence indicates that concealed carry permit holders actually deter and reduce crime. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), who is the lead Democratic cosponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, with this motion to recommit, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are trying in vain to hamper the passage of this important legislation. H.R. 38 seeks to allow law- abiding citizens the ability to exercise their Second Amendment right when they cross State lines. The Supreme Court held in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia and to use that firearm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense. Further, the Court concluded that the Second Amendment guarantees the individual right to possess and carry weapons in case of confrontation, and that central to this right is the ``inherent right of self-defense.'' Additionally, in McDonnell v. City of Chicago, the Supreme Court ruled that the right of an individual to ``keep and bear arms,'' as protected under the Second Amendment, is incorporated by the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment against the States. An individual's Second Amendment right is no different than the First Amendment's protections on speech and free exercise of religious expression and the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable search and seizure or the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment. Can you imagine my colleagues' outcries if any of the aforementioned rights stopped at their State's borders? Believe me, I can. They would be loud and boisterous about it, and justifiably so. Despite that fact, here they are trying to derail a bill that affords the Second Amendment the same respect. Now, this motion to recommit attempts to extend the law, the Federal law, which already bars people from having firearms if they have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor domestic violence crimes, by saying any violent crime be covered. And they define violent crime by saying it means ``any offense that involves injury or the threat of injury to the person of another.'' Well, in my State of Virginia and in most other States, it is up to the police officer in a traffic accident, if you rear-end somebody and you injure them, whether or not you are simply charged with a traffic offense or you are charged with a criminal offense. That should not be the basis of denying somebody their Second Amendment rights under the United States Constitution. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this motion to recommit and support the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 38.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I claim the time in opposition to the motion to recommit.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Mrs. Roby), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe), a member of the Judiciary Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 15 seconds to include in the Record two articles, one from Tennessee and one from Florida, in which concealed carry permit holders stopped dead in their tracks people who were going to commit murder. [From www.wsmv.com, Oct. 8, 2017] Usher Being Called ``Hero'' for Helping to Stop Antioch Church Shooter (By Edward Burch) Antioch, TN.--Robert Caleb Engle is being hailed as a hero after helping to stop the accused gunman during the shooting at Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in Antioch on Sunday. According to police and witnesses at the scene, Engle, who is an usher at the church, confronted the accused shooter, Emanuel Kidega Samson. Engle was then pistol-whipped by Samson. The two got into a scuffle before Samson shot himself in the chest. Engle, who has a carry permit, went out to his car to get a gun, despite suffering a head injury. Engle then went back inside the church to confront Samson and held him at gunpoint until authorities arrived. Engle, 22, declined an on-camera interview but did send a statement. When complimented about his heroism, Engle said, ``I do not want to be labeled a hero. The real heroes are the police, first responders, medical staff and doctors who have helped me and everyone affected.'' ``I've been going to this church my whole life,'' Engle said ``I would have never, ever thought something like this would have happened.'' ``(He's) just an outstanding young man, even before today,'' said Tammy Adcock, one of Engle's neighbors. ``Today just proved his character.'' Engle also asked for prayers for not just the victims, but for the shooter and the shooter's family. ``They are hurting as well,'' Engle said. Engle and 64-year-old Catherine Dickerson were taken to Skyline Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Both Engle and Dickerson have since been released from the hospital.