Remarks by Rep. Henry Bonilla (R-23) at the Opening Ceremony of the NRA Annual Meetings Houston 2005

Thank you. Thank you so much. On behalf of the Texas delegation, welcome to Houston, and thank you for being here.

Not just as a Member of Congress, but as a fellow American who believes so strongly that we have to be relentless. Just as Wayne LaPierre was mentioning a moment ago, the fights never end. In Washington, the extreme fringe groups are looking for a way to punch a hole in our Constitution, to take our rights away under the Second Amendment, to use the legal system on occasion to try to drive us back, and we must never give up.

You all have families, you have jobs and responsibilities back home, you have errands that are important; the fact that you have chosen to come to Houston to be part of this really means a lot to us, because it tells us that the movement is still strong, that our support for defending the constitution is still strong. Because we can't do our job without your strong support.

I encourage you all to stay active and be strong with your Members of Congress, all over Texas and all over the nation, and make a point of visiting with them. All will listen, all will take the time, and they really need to hear your views as patriotic Americans and what we're standing for.

Let me just close by saying what the extreme left-wing fringe groups are trying to do is not just punch a hole in the Second Amendment; they're trying to tear down our American way of life. And we have to be careful of that. They're the same people that link up with Hollywood and the Moveon.org people, and Michael Moore. And you know it's not just about the issues we're talking about here. They really don't like our country, and they team up to say we really ought to be a lot more like France, or Belgium, or Germany, or Mexico, or Canada, ...and you know what I say to those people? If you really like those places more, why don't you move there?

So as Wayne Lapierre mentioned, we must remain strong, we must remain relentless, because the battles will never end. As so help me God, as long as I remain a Member of the U.S. Congress, I will fight every day to defend our Second Amendment rights, the Constitution, and this great way of life that that we have in the greatest country that has ever existed in the history of the world.

Thank you.