Sens. Crapo, Risch say Idaho Statehouse is ‘where common sense reigns’

BOISE – Idaho’s two U.S. senators visited the Statehouse Tuesday and told state representatives and senators that they’re doing things right.

“It is so fabulous to be back where common sense reigns,” Sen. Mike Crapo said. “It’s a continuous struggle in Washington, D.C.”

Sen. Jim Risch said when ideas come up in the nation’s capital, “Somebody needs to say, ‘Hey, they can do this back in your states, the federal government doesn’t need to be involved in this.’ ”

Crapo talked about his work on gun-rights bills, saying there’s “a constant effort to restrict and if possible even eliminate the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.” He added that the threat isn’t from the current Congress, “but that doesn’t mean that the battle has not been engaged.”

Crapo is sponsoring legislation to allow firearms on land owned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, following a victory in the fight to allow guns in national parks and wildlife refuges. “There are hundreds of miles of trails … a huge amount of recreational public facilities on corps lands,” he told Idaho legislators.

Crapo said he’s also fighting to make sure the Social Security Administration doesn’t declare people “mentally defective” and therefore ineligible to have guns because they seek help with their finances.

“It’s outrageous,” he said. “Their answer to us is, ‘We haven’t done that yet.’ But they clearly are evaluating it, and it is a real possibility. So we’ve got legislation in place to stop that. We’ll see if we’re able to make it through the Congress.”