Riley M. Moore
Representative for West Virginia · Republican · United States
“Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this legislation, and I thank Chairman Cole and Chairman Diaz-Balart for their leadership on this bill. This bill reinforces the important work we have championed to combat the persecution of Christians in Nigeria where nearly 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009.”
“This bill bolsters our strategy by conditioning 50 percent of all U.S. assistance to Nigeria on measurable actions to protect Christians. It also puts a spotlight on the Middle Belt where we have not seen nearly enough progress in protecting Christians against Fulani Islamic terrorists.”
“When I was State treasurer in West Virginia, we said ``no'' to the gun-grabbing progressive bank partnering with a European NGO destroying American rights.”
“In fact, this very body has twice prohibited these unjust registries, once in 1986 and again in 1993, to prohibit the left from destroying Americans' rights. However, the gun-grabbing left never stops trying.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act. My bill preserves two fundamental rights: the right to privacy and the right to bear arms. Americans should not be forced to disclose to payment processors when they buy firearms.”
“A private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is a threat that we cannot accept. Our God-given right to own a firearm does not stop at the border of blue States. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representatives Barr and Hudson, for their work on this bill.”
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“This bill bolsters our strategy by conditioning 50 percent of all U.S. assistance to Nigeria on measurable actions to protect Christians. It also puts a spotlight on the Middle Belt where we have not seen nearly enough progress in protecting Christians against Fulani Islamic terrorists. With this vote, we will express the support of this Chamber for the report we presented to the White House on how to end the Christian genocide in Nigeria. Mr. Chair, the United States must never turn a blind eye to our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill.”
“Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this legislation, and I thank Chairman Cole and Chairman Diaz-Balart for their leadership on this bill. This bill reinforces the important work we have championed to combat the persecution of Christians in Nigeria where nearly 100,000 Christians have been killed since 2009. Last year, President Trump asked Chairman Cole and myself to investigate the slaughter of Christians in Nigeria, with myself and Chairman Diaz-Balart going to Nigeria. Since then, we have worked with the Trump administration to develop a strategy that provides assistance to the Nigerian Government in their defense of Christians while holding President Tinubu's government accountable if they fail. The U.S.-Nigeria security agreement is already bearing fruit, including eliminating ISIS' number two globally.”
“In West Virginia, we don't ask permission to protect ourselves and our families, and no American should ever have to wonder whether buying a firearm will land them on a government watch list. Privacy and gun ownership go hand in hand. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''”
“A private database of gun owners falling into the hands of a future anti-gun administration is a threat that we cannot accept. Our God-given right to own a firearm does not stop at the border of blue States. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representatives Barr and Hudson, for their work on this bill. I also thank Chairman Hill for getting it across the finish line. I also thank Representative Stefanik for her leadership on this issue. These are our God-given rights, spelled out in our Constitution, and we proudly exercise them. We will not allow an elitist bank partnered with a foreign, faceless bureaucracy to rob Americans of their right to protect themselves.”
“When I was State treasurer in West Virginia, we said ``no'' to the gun-grabbing progressive bank partnering with a European NGO destroying American rights. Under my leadership as State treasurer, West Virginia enacted one of the first bans on separate merchant category codes for firearms retailers, protecting the privacy of our State's gun owners. Nineteen States after that followed suit. However, a patchwork of State regulations is not enough. California, Colorado, and New York currently mandate that firearm stores have a separate merchant category code, creating a de facto registry in some of the most populous States in our country. This cannot be allowed to stand. We have already seen the Biden administration pressure financial institutions to hand over data on their customers.”
“In fact, this very body has twice prohibited these unjust registries, once in 1986 and again in 1993, to prohibit the left from destroying Americans' rights. However, the gun-grabbing left never stops trying. In 2021, the progressive Amalgamated Bank lobbied the International Organization for Standardization to create a separate merchant category code for firearm retailers to advance a backdoor gun registry. Previously, these retailers had always been accurately categorized as miscellaneous retail stores or sporting goods stores. Amalgamated Bank was hell-bent on tracking firearm purchases. It pressured a faceless, unaccountable, foreign standards body in Geneva to stand up a new merchant category code explicitly targeting American gun owners and American businesses.”
“Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act. My bill preserves two fundamental rights: the right to privacy and the right to bear arms. Americans should not be forced to disclose to payment processors when they buy firearms. The bill preserves Americans' rights by prohibiting the creation of a separate merchant category code for firearms. This would, of course, become a de facto gun registry. The bill also preempts harmful State laws and gives the Attorney General authority to take any bank or payment processor that assigns or requires a separate code to Federal court. For too long, the American people have had their rights undermined by the radical left. The bill's premise is simple: no gun registries, period.”
“The failure to stabilize Iraq post-invasion left Christians vulnerable to ethnoreligious cleansing, a tragedy that the international community has yet to fully address. Mr. Speaker, the United States cannot stand idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in raising our voices for the persecuted, to honor their faith and bravery with action, and to ensure the United States is a beacon of hope for those suffering for their beliefs in Jesus Christ. I will introduce a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians, and I urge this body to take up that resolution and pass it overwhelmingly. ____________________”
“The 2003 U.S.- led invasion of Iraq, intended to bring stability, unleashed chaos that empowered extremist groups like al-Qaida, and, later, ISIS. The number of Christians living in Iraq has plummeted from 1.2 million in 2011 to around 100,000 now. In 2014, ISIS overran Qaraqosh, forcing 100,000 Christians to flee as their homes were marked with the Arabic letter ``N'' for ``Nazarene.'' Churches were burned and families were torn apart, and the Christian mayor of Qaraqosh, a devoted leader working to rebuild his community, was recently removed from his post. This decision was driven by an Iranian-backed militia leader as a deliberate attempt to erase Christian influence in the region.”
“In Syria, the Christian population has plummeted from 1.5 million in 2011 to just 300,000 in 2022, driven by the horrors of the Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State. Ancient churches have been razed and Christian artifacts destroyed, erasing a Christian heritage that dates back to the Apostle Paul. With the fall of the Assad regime, Christians are rightly afraid of continued violence against Christians as clashes continue in western Syria. In March, Islamic forces attacked churches, desecrated cemeteries, forced Christian women to adhere to Islamic dress codes, and confiscated the homes of Christians. Unfortunately, U.S. foreign policy blunders have exacerbated the crisis for Christians in the region, especially in Iraq.”
“More Christians face persecution there than any other nation combined. Since the outbreak of Boko Haram's insurgency in 2009, more than 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools have been destroyed in northern Nigeria alone. More than 50,000 Christians have been killed, and more than 5 million have been displaced since 2009, making it the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. Earlier this month, 54 Christians were slaughtered after celebrating Palm Sunday. On Ash Wednesday this year, a priest in north central Nigeria was kidnapped and brutally murdered. This targeting of religious leaders is not a one-off occurrence. Thirteen priests and seminarians were kidnapped in 2024, and nearly 200 priests and seminarians were kidnapped or killed in Nigeria in the last decade.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Page H1733] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS (Mr. Moore of West Virginia was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. MOORE of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to address a grave and urgent crisis, the rampant persecution of Christians in Africa and the Middle East. Across these regions, our brothers and sisters in faith experience violence, displacement, and death for their belief in our Lord Jesus Christ. No person or community should ever face such brutal conditions for acknowledging the name of Jesus. In Nigeria, the situation is dire.”
“The failure to stabilize Iraq post-invasion left Christians vulnerable to ethnoreligious cleansing, a tragedy that the international community has yet to fully address. Mr. Speaker, the United States cannot stand idly by. I urge my colleagues to join me in raising our voices for the persecuted, to honor their faith and bravery with action, and to ensure the United States is a beacon of hope for those suffering for their beliefs in Jesus Christ. I will introduce a resolution condemning the persecution of Christians, and I urge this body to take up that resolution and pass it overwhelmingly. ____________________”
“The 2003 U.S.- led invasion of Iraq, intended to bring stability, unleashed chaos that empowered extremist groups like al-Qaida, and, later, ISIS. The number of Christians living in Iraq has plummeted from 1.2 million in 2011 to around 100,000 now. In 2014, ISIS overran Qaraqosh, forcing 100,000 Christians to flee as their homes were marked with the Arabic letter ``N'' for ``Nazarene.'' Churches were burned and families were torn apart, and the Christian mayor of Qaraqosh, a devoted leader working to rebuild his community, was recently removed from his post. This decision was driven by an Iranian-backed militia leader as a deliberate attempt to erase Christian influence in the region.”
“In Syria, the Christian population has plummeted from 1.5 million in 2011 to just 300,000 in 2022, driven by the horrors of the Syrian civil war and the rise of the Islamic State. Ancient churches have been razed and Christian artifacts destroyed, erasing a Christian heritage that dates back to the Apostle Paul. With the fall of the Assad regime, Christians are rightly afraid of continued violence against Christians as clashes continue in western Syria. In March, Islamic forces attacked churches, desecrated cemeteries, forced Christian women to adhere to Islamic dress codes, and confiscated the homes of Christians. Unfortunately, U.S. foreign policy blunders have exacerbated the crisis for Christians in the region, especially in Iraq.”
“More Christians face persecution there than any other nation combined. Since the outbreak of Boko Haram's insurgency in 2009, more than 18,000 churches and 2,200 Christian schools have been destroyed in northern Nigeria alone. More than 50,000 Christians have been killed, and more than 5 million have been displaced since 2009, making it the most dangerous country in the world for Christians. Earlier this month, 54 Christians were slaughtered after celebrating Palm Sunday. On Ash Wednesday this year, a priest in north central Nigeria was kidnapped and brutally murdered. This targeting of religious leaders is not a one-off occurrence. Thirteen priests and seminarians were kidnapped in 2024, and nearly 200 priests and seminarians were kidnapped or killed in Nigeria in the last decade.”
“Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 72 (Wednesday, April 30, 2025)] [House] [Page H1733] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS (Mr. Moore of West Virginia was recognized to address the House for 5 minutes.) Mr. MOORE of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to address a grave and urgent crisis, the rampant persecution of Christians in Africa and the Middle East. Across these regions, our brothers and sisters in faith experience violence, displacement, and death for their belief in our Lord Jesus Christ. No person or community should ever face such brutal conditions for acknowledging the name of Jesus. In Nigeria, the situation is dire.”