Category: Government

among others, the mayors of Kansas City and St Lousy are also in for a rude awakening, or so the Missouri Attorney General has said.

OHIO COURT, PHILADELPHIA SUBURBS SHOW IMPORTANCE OF PREEMPTION LAWS

Neighboring states of Ohio and Pennsylvania are offering lessons in real time of what happens when gun control politicians ignore laws and create barriers for the firearm industry. Gun control politicians, acting on behalf of gun control activists, create havoc and disarray when they foist their own restrictive gun control policies that aren’t in step with state law.

Ohio’s Tenth District Court of Appeals overturned a lower court’s decision to grant an injunction that allowed the City of Columbus to enact their own gun control laws. The appeals court found that Columbus’ attempt to block the state from enforcing uniform laws for firearms was incorrectly granted, since it was sought years after the challenge and after Columbus enacted their own ordinances that barred standard capacity magazines and firearm storage mandates.

Ohio is one of 42 states that have what is called a “preemption” law. That means authority to enact laws that regulate firearms resides with the state legislature and not local municipalities. Those laws protect from cities and towns creating a patchwork of gun control laws that would ensnare state citizens traveling throughout the state.

“The court’s ruling assures that all Ohioans must abide by the same law, state law, when it comes to firearms,” said Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost in a press release following the court’s ruling. “Just like we argued in court, firearms owners statewide should have to follow the same rules.”

When It’s Gun Control, Though…
It’s a law gun control advocates ignore when it is convenient. When it comes to enforcing overreaching gun control laws, gun control politicians demand strict adherence and strict enforcement.

Oregon passed their Measure 114 that outlaws standard capacity magazines and requires police to maintain an electronic, searchable firearm permit database, provide additional hands-on firearm training and fingerprint applicants for firearm purchase permits, at least five county sheriffs said they wouldn’t enforce the gun control law, calling it a violation of Second Amendment rights. NSSF is challenging that law in federal court.

Oregon’s Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum had previous dust-ups over Second Amendment issue with county sheriffs and cited a state law requiring them to arrest and imprison “all persons who break the peace, or attempt to break it, and all persons guilty of public offenses.”

“Thus, a sheriff and deputies have a statutory duty to enforce state criminal laws,” AG Rosenblum wrote in a petition of earlier clashes with sheriffs over Second Amendment concerns.

New Mexico’s Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham clashed with sheriffs in her state in 2020 over “red flag” laws. The head of New Mexico Sheriffs’ Association, Tony Mace, wrote that the law didn’t take Due Process rights into consideration and some sheriffs said they wouldn’t enforce it. Gov. Grisham said sheriffs had no discretion in the matter.

“They cannot not enforce,” she said, according to a CNN report. “And if they really intend to do that, they should resign as a law enforcement officer and leader in that community.”

Zoned Out
The conflict over “home rule” and “self-determination” when it comes to passing a patchwork of gun control laws is playing out now in Lower Merion Township, a suburb of Philadelphia. NPR reported that the town passed a zoning ordinance that would put the only federal firearms licensee, Shot Tec, out of business. Shot Tec doesn’t carry an inventory of firearms. It’s a business that facilitates legal firearm transfers and provides firearm safety classes. Still, town officials want it gone.

Township Commissioner Mike McKeon said the local law is one about zoning and not gun control, yet told NPR, “we’re trying to make everyone feel safer.”

“What the township did is they made it less accessible for people to access their rights and for people to access things like gunsmithing, etc.,” said Shot Tec owner Grant Schmidt, noting his firearm business is the only one in Lower Merion Township.

That’s a sticking point because Pennsylvania has a firearm preemption law. This has been challenged numerous times and was most recently batted down after Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney attempted to ban firearms in city parks and recreation areas. The reason was on account of the state’s General Assembly has the exclusive legal authority to write those laws in the Commonwealth. Pittsburg officials learned that again last year after trying to write their own gun control laws.

The striking irony is that those politicians demanding to pass their own local gun laws aren’t calling for crackdowns on criminals. They’re only demanding that those who obey the law are stripped of their ability to lawfully purchase a firearm. They’re ignoring state law to press a gun control agenda. These are gun control platitudes that run roughshod on state law and ignores criminals that are the real menace to society.

Press Release: Attorney General Bailey joins 23 states in opposing California’s defacto handgun ban

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced today that his office joined 23 other states in challenging California’s “Unsafe Handgun Act.” The amicus brief supports the California Rifle & Pistol Association’s challenge to the California law aimed at limiting the sale and use of guns in California and nationwide.

“The Second Amendment guarantees freedom and security for all Americans. I will not stand idly by while rogue progressive activists in California attempt to eradicate the freedoms of law-abiding gun owners that are enshrined in our Constitution,” said Attorney General Bailey. “I am proud to stand in the gap with my fellow attorneys general to protect our God-given rights.”

The State of California aims to use the “Unsafe Handgun Act” to chill firearm commerce. California law requires new semiautomatic handguns to have three components:

1. A chamber load indicator,
2. a magazine disconnect mechanism, and
3. microstamping capability.

Currently, no new gun on the market meets all three of these requirements.
 
California has effectively created hurdles to halt the purchase of all new firearms, a clear violation of the Second Amendment.

Joining Missouri in filing the brief are the states of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Maine Democrats fail in initial try to push gun control through House

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine House of Representatives defeated a measure Tuesday to enshrine a 72-hour waiting period before gun purchases.

Maine sticks out nationally as a Democratic-controlled state with a strong hunting culture that combines loose gun laws and  high levels of gun ownership with lower levels of gun mortality, although federal data from 2021 showed the latter was the highest in New England. Voters in 2016 rejected a referendum on mandatory background checks on private gun sales.

House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross, D-Portland, is proposing a similar law this year. The waiting period bill from Rep. Margaret Craven, D-Lewiston, which would have Maine join seven states with similar laws, was a test to see whether the party could display unity on the fraught issue.

But Republicans and a small number of Democrats defeated the waiting period bill in a 73-69 vote on Tuesday evening. It goes to the Senate for additional votes. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, has taken a dim view of gun control recently.

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Governor Abbott Signs Key Pro-Second Amendment Bills into Law!

Over the weekend, Governor Greg Abbott (R) signed important legislation protecting the privacy rights of lawful firearms purchasers and strengthening the state firearms preemption law. Both measures will take effect on September 1, 2023:

House Bill 2837, by Rep. Matt Schaefer (R-Tyler), prohibits financial institutions and credit card companies from requiring licensed dealers to use a firearms-specific merchant category code (MCC) to categorize retail gun purchases, rather than using a general merchandise retailer code or a sporting goods retailer code. It protects the privacy rights of lawful purchasers of firearms or ammunition by preventing payment card processing systems from collecting and misusing this data to surveil, report or disclose these legal transactions.

Gun control advocates successfully pressured activist banks on the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to create a unique MCC for licensed gun dealers. Now, they are pushing lawmakers to require credit card companies to use these MCCs to gather data on and track lawful firearms and ammunition purchases. Since the federal government is prohibited by law from creating and maintaining a registry of gun owners, they are attempting to outsource this effort to the private financial sector.

HB 2837 ensures that this will not happen in the Lone Star State! Texas joins Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, and West Virginia in taking swift action this year to enact laws protecting lawful gun purchasers’ privacy when using credit cards at firearm retailers.

House Bill 3137, by Rep. Carrie Isaac (R-Wimberley), expands the state firearms preemption law to prohibit municipalities or counties from requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance, preventing such costly, California-style local regulations from being imposed on law-abiding Texas gun owners in the future.   

Governor Abbott had already signed a third pro-Second Amendment measure into law back in May: House Bill 1760 by Rep. Cole Hefner (R-Mount Pleasant). The current prohibition in the Texas Penal Code on firearms possession at school-sponsored activities could be interpreted to include countless locations where school field trips, school organization fundraisers and after-school programs occur, including public and private venues that are not owned by, or under the control of, a school. HB 1760 makes it clear that License To Carry holders and permitless carriers in possession of otherwise legal firearms at these locations would not become felons simply because students are present on the same premises. The bill clarifies that it is only an offense to carry a firearm where school activities are taking place if they are being conducted on property that is owned or operated by a school. 

Three Pro-Rights Bills Passed by Texas Lawmakers

Three pieces of legislation backed by the National Rifle Association were passed by the Texas Legislature over the weekend and sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, who has already signed one of the measures.

According to the NRA, the three bills are:

House Bill 1760, which has already been signed into law, provides a solution to allegedly “roving gun-free” school zones, which apply to school events occurring away from the school campus. This legislation limits “gun-free” restrictions to facilities actually owned and controlled by schools, or where high school, collegiate and UIL activities described in the State Penal Code (Section 46.03) are held.

House Bill 2837, which is awaiting Abbott’s signature, is designed to protect the privacy rights of people who purchase firearms and ammunition by preventing financial institutions from requiring the use of a firearms-specific merchant category code (MCC) when such purchases are made. This bill thwarts efforts by gun control groups to essentially separate gun and ammunition purchases from other retail buying with a unique MCC as established by the International Organization for Standardization. The NRA contends anti-gunners were looking for a way to create a defacto registry of gun owners, since the federal government is prohibited by law from doing so.

House Bill 3137 prevents local governments (city and/or county) from requiring firearm owners to obtain liability insurance, under the state firearms preemption law.

The gun prohibition lobby portrays Texas as something of a no-man’s land, and the media focuses on mass shootings there, while essentially supporting states such as California, with its strict gun laws, but which also has mass shootings.

Anti-gunners were busy this session in Austin, where, according to NRA figures, there were a dozen bills aimed at so-called “universal background checks,” eight so-called “red flag” bills, nine bills proposing restrictions on magazine capacity, and a whopping 21 bills that would have placed restrictions on firearms or ammunition sales to young adults.

NSSF COMMENDS NORTH DAKOTA GOV. BURGUM FOR SIGNING SECOND AMENDMENT FINANCIAL PRIVACY ACT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF^®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, commends North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum for signing legislation to protect the financial privacy of purchases with credit cards at firearm retailers. Gov. Burgum signed the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act to prohibit the use of a special Merchant Category Code (MCC) for credit card purchases and prevent personal financial information from being shared by financial institutions.

“Governor Burgum is putting gun control special interests in ‘woke’ Wall Street financial corporations on notice that their attempts at antigun policies end at North Dakota’s borders,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “North Dakotans legally purchasing firearms and ammunition should never be threatened by private financial service providers or government authorities by having their name and financial data being added to a government-accessible watchlist simply for exercising their Second Amendment rights. Governor Burgum is ensuring North Dakotans won’t be held captive by the radical ‘woke’ antigun agenda that seeks to weaponize credit cards in gun owners’ wallets against them. Gun owners should worry about what’s in their wallet, not who’s in their wallet.”

Gov. Burgum signed the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act (HB 1487). The law prohibits financial institutions from requiring a firearm retailer-specific code that is different from that of other sporting goods or general merchandise retailers.

In late 2022, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) announced it would create a unique MCC, at the behest of Amalgamated Bank which has been described as the Left’s Private Banker, that would allow credit card companies to monitor transactions at firearm retailers. Credit card companies suspended plans to implement the use of unique firearm retailer MCCs after significant opposition by NSSF and several state governments.

North Dakota joins Florida, West Virginia, Mississippi and Idaho in enacting laws to protect firearm purchasers’ privacy when using credit cards at firearm retailers. Legislation similar to these state laws is pending in Congress.