By: Teresa Mull
Here’s a little round-up of some pro-gun legislation being considering across the country, and some bad news (typical!) coming out of Pennsylvania:
In Idaho, the State Senate has passed SB 1262 to deem firearms-related businesses as “essential” in the case of an emergency.
Of course we all remember during the initial COVID-19 outbreak, when so many liberal bastions ruled our Second-Amendment rights were non-essential. Idaho is working to guard against such unconstitutional decrees in the future, with this bill that passed the Senate with a 30-5 vote.
In Arizona, the State House is considering a bill that would make it so firearms companies get a fair shake when it comes to government agencies considering contracts.
Rep. Frank Carroll introduced the bill “to prohibit government agencies from contracting with firms that refuse to do business with firearms companies,” reports the Associated Press. According to the news outlet, the bill is receiving “strong support” from Republicans.
And in Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf has done what he does best: vetoed a pro-Second Amendment Bill.
NCPA News reports Wolf has vetoed House Bill 979, which would have “deterred implementation of illegal ordinances by holding offending jurisdictions financially responsible for attorney fees and costs, as well as any lost income, for a person who successfully challenges such an ordinance.”
We’ve seen similar legislation make progress in New Hampshire, a top pro-freedom state.
As GPM reported previously, lawmakers in the New Hampshire General Court are moving legislation that would prohibit towns and cities from implementing firearms regulations on municipal-owned property and would give residents the power to sue the town to compel officials to take down the regulations.
Individuals who pursue legal action could receive $10,000 in court settlements. Furthermore, town officials who lose the lawsuit could be removed by the governor.
The bill in question, House Bill 307, advocates for “uniform firearms laws in the state” by mandating towns immediately rescind any local ordinances or regulations on firearms.
According to a report by Ethan DeWitt at The Concord Monitor, HB 307 allows a person who believes a town has passed a firearm regulation in violation of state law to write a letter to the town citing its illegal action. Upon receiving the letter, the town would have 90 days to take down the regulation using its local legislative procedures.
If the town did not remove the regulation after 90 days, the person is then able to take the issue to the New Hampshire Superior Court. The bill effectively grants the person automatic standing.
The court could then issue a fine ranging from $500 to $5,000 to the town caught violating state law. The level of fine depends on whether the town’s violation was “inadvertent” or was enacted “purposefully,” “knowingly,” “recklessly,” or “as the result of gross negligence.”
Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.