U.S. Senators Jim Risch of Idaho and Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi introduced the Gun-Owner Registration Information Protection (GRIP) Act on Mar. 9 to prevent states from using federal funds or background check data to maintain gun registries.
The proposed legislation aims to address concerns about government overreach and the protection of Second Amendment rights for law-abiding citizens. Supporters say the bill would close loopholes that allow state and local governments to use federal resources for creating or maintaining firearms registries.
“Idaho’s law-abiding gun owners should not be subject to illegal firearms registries,” said Risch. “The GRIP Act closes the loophole exploited by state and local governments to ensure federal dollars are not used to keep illegal gun registries that undermine Idahoans’ Second Amendment rights.”
Hyde-Smith said, “The Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens remain imperiled as Democrats and anti-gun activists lean into government overreach. The GRIP Act is needed to clarify that states and localities cannot use federal funds or data to keep gun registries that can lead to infringing on a constitutional right.”
Current law prohibits the federal government from keeping a national firearms registry with information obtained through background checks. The GRIP Act would extend these protections by ensuring state and local governments cannot use federal funding for collecting or storing personally identifiable information related to legal firearm purchases and ownership. The bill has support from organizations such as the National Rifle Association and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Risch has advocated for energy independence, Second Amendment rights, protection of Idaho agriculture, property tax reductions, and increased public school funding according to his official website. He has served as U.S. Senator for Idaho, chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and held positions on several other committees according to his official website. His previous roles include Ada County Prosecuting Attorney, Idaho State Senator, Lieutenant Governor, and Governor of Idaho according to his official website.
Risch resides on a ranch outside Boise with his family according to his official website, and maintains offices across Idaho as well as in Washington, D.C. according to his official website.
