Texas, Missouri Join Other States Looking To Block Gun Bans
by Mike Maharrey
Tenth
Amendment Center
States
have opportunity to say ‘No!’ to gun grabs
On the same
day President Obama called for a ban on assault weapons and high
capacity magazines, a Texas legislator filed a bill asserting, “Not
in my state!”
On Wednesday,
the Lone Star State joined five other states already considering
legislation that would block enforcement federal firearms acts in
violation of the Second Amendment.
Texas Rep.
John Otto (R-Dayton) announced the filing of HB553
on Wednesday morning. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any
state or federal official to “enforce or attempt to enforce any
acts, laws, executive orders, agency orders, rules or regulations
of any kind whatsoever of the United States government relating
to confiscating any firearm, banning any firearm, limiting the size
of a magazine for any firearm, imposing any limit on the ammunition
that may be purchased for any firearm, taxing any firearm or ammunition
therefore, or requiring the registration of any firearm or ammunition
therefore.”
“The Second
Amendment won’t enforce itself,” Tenth Amendment Center communications
director Mike Maharrey said. “The Bill of Rights is nothing but
a piece of parchment without some power behind it stepping in and
holding the federal government in check. James Madison said when
the feds pass an unwarrantable measure, the means of opposition
to it are powerful and at hand. He was referring to the state governments.
Texas has the opportunity to do just what the founders intended,
interpose and resist an out of control federal government and protect
the most basic rights of its citizens.”
Texas
doesn’t stand alone in the fight. On Tuesday, Missouri Rep. Casey
Guernsey (R-Bethany) introduced HB170,
a similar bill that would block enforcement of a wide range of unconstitutional
federal restrictions on firearms. The bill affirms the state’s authority
to regulate firearms made and owned exclusively within Missouri,
and makes it a felony for any federal agent to attempt to enforce
a federal regulation on such weapons. The bill then goes a step
further
Any federal
law, rule, regulation, or order created or effective on or after
January 1, 2013 shall be unenforceable in the state of Missouri
if the law, rule, regulation, or order attempts to:
(1) Ban or
restrict ownership of a semi-automatic firearm or any magazine of
a firearm; or
(2) Require
any firearm, magazine, or other firearm accessory to be registered
in any manner.
Maharrey called proactive steps by state legislatures crucial.
“The president
made it clear that he will push Congress hard to ban certain weapons,
a clear violation of the spirit of the Second Amendment, which forbids
any abridgement of the right to keep and bear arms. Banning clearly
abridges. Look the word up; it’s pretty clear,” he said. “Like every
American, I am horrified at the evil perpetrated by the killer at
Sandy Hook elementary. But we cannot use one act of evil as an excuse
to perpetrate another. And make no mistake; allowing the federal
government to strip away our fundamental rights is an act of calculated
evil. We can’t trust the feds to reign in their own power. The states
must step in and protect their people.”
Wyoming, Tennessee,
South Dakota and South Carolina also have similar bills pending
before their legislatures. Sources close to the Tenth Amendment
Center indicate as many as a dozen more states could follow suit
in the coming weeks.
To track Second
Amendment Preservation legislation across the U.S. visit: tracking.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2ndamendment
January
19, 2013
Michael
Maharrey [send
him email] is the Communications Director for the Tenth Amendment
Center. He proudly resides in the original home of the Principles
of '98 - Kentucky. See his blog archive here
and his article archive here.
He also maintains the blog, Tenther
Gleanings.
Copyright
© 2013 Tenth Amendment
Center. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly
granted, provided full credit is given.
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