Many Oklahomans and gun owners across the country have asked why I have decided to participate in negotiations, and then vote to move to a debate, they view as designed to limit their rights. I understand my role in this debate appears surprising in light of my long record of not only defending but expanding Second Amendment rights by, for example, giving Americans the right to carry guns in national parks. I have also filibustered popular bills in order to defend the rights of veterans who have been stripped of their Second Amendment rights without due process because they were wrongly declared mentally unfit.