Legislation was introduced on Wednesday by Representative Mary Pelota, a Yupik, and Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Cherokee Nation citizen, to protect the Second Amendment rights of tribal citizens to buy, keep, and bear arms.
The Tribal Firearms Access Act was introduced in the House of Representatives by Pelota (D-AK) in partnership with Republican Dusty Johnson from South Dakota, and in the Senate by Mullin (R-OK) with South Dakota Republican Mike Rounds. The proposed legislation would make it easier for Native Americans living on tribal lands to buy firearms by allowing tribal governments to issue identification documents for the purposes of transferring ownership of a firearm.
“Tribal citizens, and all law-abiding Americans, have a fundamental right to keep and bear arms,” Mullin said in a statement. “For too long, a lapse in existing law has prohibited Tribal members from using their Tribal government-issued ID to lawfully purchase firearms. Our commonsense legislation corrects this unconstitutional infringement."
The bill is supported by several Republican House members, including Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), co-chair of the Native American Caucus. The National Rifle Association (NRA), the National Native American Law Enforcement Association, and other gun-rights advocacy organizations also endorse the bill.
“Tribal identification cards are already valid for a variety of uses, including boarding planes and accessing federal buildings and banks across the nation. This bill would extend this parity to include the Second Amendment Rights of Tribal members. It is past time that Tribal sovereignty is recognized in this regard, and I look forward to working with Rep. Johnson on this essential legislation,” Peltola said in a statement.
The new legislation removes certain barriers for tribal members to purchase firearms by allowing them to utilize tribally issued identification cards as a valid form of identification. Tribal IDs are usually the only form of identification for many tribal citizens, and many lack access to high-speed internet service or have no internet access at all, making it difficult to obtain a state-issued identification card.
“The right to bear arms is constitutionally vested, and important to the day-to-day lives of Native Americans,” said President Tony Reider of the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe in a statement.
