As Congress wraps up an August recess and gets ready for a debate on gun safety, U.S. Rep. Greg Pence (R-District 6) says he’s worried about a “slippery slope” for gun owners.

Pence calls himself a “staunch Second Amendment defendant,”  but says he’s open to compromise.

“I’m open to any conversation that prevents – okay – let’s talk about how we prevent harm with weapons.”

The Republican spoke in Muncie, several blocks from the city’s high school, where a 15-year-old student was arrested across the street with a loaded handgun earlier this month.

Pence mentioned some Democratic presidential candidates have suggested people “turn in weapons,” which he says is a “terrible idea.”

“If you read the second part of the Second Amendment, it’s to protect us from the government.”

Chinese Trade War

While the world keeps watch on Chinese tariff war,Pence is calling on Congress to ratify the USMCA – President Donald Trump’s new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.

Pence says approving a trade agreement with two nations that aren’t China will send a message.

“I believe that if we would ratify that, we would kind of show the rest of the world that, as a country, we can come together on behalf of businesses and agriculture and do something that benefits our economy.”

Pence says in the heavy manufacturing and agriculture state of Indiana, he’s not worried about tariffs on steel as much as tariffs on crops, especially soybeans.

He says he’ll meet with farmers in four different locations before the August Congressional recess is over.