WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, plans to introduce legislation Wednesday that would repeal a host of gun-related provisions in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, enacted in the wake of the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde.

“The Constitution is crystal clear: our right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed,” Hunt said in a statement. “Every lawmaker who claims to stand for freedom should support this bill without hesitation. Protecting the right of Americans to defend themselves and their families is not just policy, it’s principle.”

It’s unclear if Hunt’s bill could pass the House and the proposal would likely be dead on arrival in the Senate, where it would require votes from at least some moderate Republicans and Democrats to clear a certain filibuster.

Although it won’t reach President Donald Trump’s desk, it probably will add more fuel to debate over the most significant gun-related law Congress has passed in decades.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, crafted the bipartisan law amid an intense public outcry for action after the mass shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

His role in pushing the legislation drew criticism from some gun rights groups and he was booed at the state GOP convention that summer.

Hunt and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton are running against Cornyn in the March Republican primary.

Each has been critical of Cornyn’s work on the law, citing it as evidence he’s not sufficiently committed to conservative principles such as support for gun rights.

Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth six-year term, has defended his work on the law by saying he fought to keep it focused on practical solutions to improve public safety while preserving the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding gun owners.

The law also included mental health and security funding that has flowed to schools in Texas.

Cornyn has cited support from law enforcement for various provisions in the bill, including its effort to crack down on individuals with clean records buying guns for people who are legally barred from doing so.

Such “straw purchases” are how criminal organizations like Mexican cartels access firearms.

The new law included the first standalone federal statute designed specifically to target illegal gun trafficking and straw purchases, the U.S. Justice Department said last year in announcing it had charged more than 500 defendants under the statute.

The resulting cases have included criminals attempting to traffic firearms into Mexico.

Critics see the new anti-straw purchasing provisions as a potential risk to lawful transactions and small retailers, saying law enforcement officials can go after criminal weapons trafficking operations without them.

Hunt’s bill would repeal the provisions.

The law also sought to better incorporate juvenile records into the federal background check system and included an extended review for those under 21 to give time for accessing those records.

For those 18 to 21, authorities can extend probes to 10 days rather than the typical three days. The extended review allowance expires after 10 years.

The intent was to address situations where individuals already are legally barred from buying guns, but their records are not in the background check system because they date to their time as juveniles.

Hunt’s bill would eliminate funding for those provisions. Critics have described the additional wait time for the background checks as an unconstitutional infringement on the gun rights of young adults.

Hunt’s bill also would repeal provisions in the new law related to data collection and federal funding that goes to states implementing red flag laws.

“The Second Amendment Restoration Act reverses the dangerous provisions of the so-called Safer Communities Act, which pushed red flag laws on Texans and funded their expansion nationwide,” Hunt said in his statement.

Such laws are aimed at getting guns away from individuals who have demonstrated “red flags” they could be a threat to themselves or others. Many gun rights supporters see them as ripe for abuse.

Cornyn has said he fought to exclude Democratic proposals for a national red flag law and insisted on due process protections, along with equal funding for states such as Texas that don’t want to adopt red flag laws.

They can use the money on measures such as drug and veterans treatment courts.

Asked about it over the summer on the Chad Hasty program, Cornyn noted Texas doesn’t have a red flag law.

“We didn’t change the law when it came to who can buy a firearm except to say that we’re going to look at the background of juveniles younger than 18 years old to see whether they have a criminal conviction or a mental health commitment that would disqualify them from purchasing a firearm if they were an adult,” Cornyn said.

Hunt’s bill has eight co-sponsors, including several Texas Republicans: U.S. Reps. Brandon Gill of Flower Mound, Chip Roy of Austin and Troy Nehls of Richmond.

Hunt said it’s been endorsed by gun rights groups such as the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, National Association of Gun Rights, Texas Gun Rights Association and the Texas State Rifle Association.