So this is how it feels to be in Congress...

How many people can say they were part of a legislative hearing in the actual committee rooms of the Rayburn House Office Building? Not many I’m sure. Today for class we prepared ourselves to discuss the Bill H.R. 1234, which is a bill that proposes that citizens seeking to buy a gun shall first have to complete a firearms safety training course. Once taken the course, these certified citizens are able to purchase their guns. In doing so, this Bill was intended to ensure that people knew how to safely own and operate their guns. Our class was spit up in two groups, the majority which supported the bill and the minority which did not. We prepared for this discussion identically to what an actual Committee hearing would be like. I was on the majority side of the Committee on the Judiciary. Therefore, I supported the Bill H.R. 1234. It was my job to discuss the lack of financial burden on the individuals trying to purchase the guns and also the federally licensed gun dealers. It was interesting because we had to prepare for the counter argument that the other side would present.

Before this exercise, I never knew how complicated and specific the process was. The seating was specific to the seniority of the members, there were specific lines we had to state when addressing the chair and our other fellow members, and the voting process was also interesting. For the voting, we had to state aye if we agreed with it, and nay if we did not. Depending upon which side got the most votes, would determine whether the bill would go to markup or not. This whole process was so exciting because it was where actual committee members make such decisions in Congress. To be in that same room was surreal.

Afterwards, our professor took us to Judiciary Committee Room where many historical events have occurred. One such even was the impeachment process of Bill Clinton. Because our professor was directly involved and there for this event and many similarly important ones, he was able to make the room come alive with stories. It’s a great experience to be able to hear about this from someone who was there and to be able to see this beautifully designed room with all its history. I am happy to say, another great day at American University!

-Andreanna :-)