Cloud's Bill Would Block Federal Gun Control During Emergencies

Texas Rep. Michael Cloud (R) has introduced the "Protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Act," which prevents the federal government from using emergency declarations as a basis for imposing gun control measures.

The bill is a response to a June 2024 advisory from former Biden administration Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, which declared firearm violence a “public health crisis.”

Rep. Cloud argues that such declarations are a thinly veiled attempt to justify radical gun control measures, including public carry bans, firearm confiscation, “assault weapon” bans, magazine capacity limits, strict storage mandates, and a national gun registry.

“We saw during COVID how government agencies exploited emergency powers to strip Americans of their freedoms—including attempts to use public health declarations as a tool for sweeping mandates and restrictions,” Rep. Cloud said.

The Texas Republican’s bill follows President Donald Trump’s (R) February 2025 executive order, which prohibits the federal government from infringing on Second Amendment rights. It supports the president’s order and ensures future administrations cannot use emergency powers to implement unconstitutional gun restrictions.

“The federal bureaucracy has made it clear they will seize any opportunity to expand their control at the expense of our liberties,” Rep. Cloud stated. “We must steward this window of opportunity to re-secure these rights for the American people and ensure no administration can use emergency declarations as a backdoor for unconstitutional gun control.”

Hunter King, the Director of Political Affairs for the National Association of Gun Rights, praised the bill, calling it “necessary to stop the collusion between a gun-grabbing executive branch and their bureaucratic counterparts.”

The bill is currently under consideration by the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Energy and Commerce.