TANYA METAKSA
By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— State Legislation: California- City of Carson gun control resolution defeated. New Hampshire—HB 687, firearms seizure bill, has been sent to the House floor for a vote. Kentucky—The Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary had a hearing on “red flag laws” on Nov, 22, Pennsylvania— Both houses of legislature pass SB 147, Sunday hunting bill, now goes to Governor Wolf, 3 new anti-gun bills introduced. Judicial-N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. City of New York, New York before the US Supreme Court Dec. 2; National Rifle Association of America, v. City and County of San Francisco, et. al; 2019 Elections—Louisiana: John Bel Edwards (D) is re-elected Governor. 2020 Elections—Billionaire Michael Bloomberg announced Sunday he will run for the Democratic nomination for President. Senator Elizabeth Warren wants to increase the firearms and ammunition excise tax.
2019 Elections
New Jersey:
Although the Democrats still have a majority in Trenton, there are some bright spots in southern New Jersey where Republicans have won several seats.
Virginia:
Anti-gun Democrats in Virginia were successful in taking back the legislature thanks to an unprecedented influx of outside money—especially from Mike Bloomberg’s gun control organizations.
2020 Elections
Billionaire and Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Sunday made it official. He is running for the Democratic nomination for president. He will bankroll his own campaign and not take political donations. If elected he will also take no salary, according to published reports.
Elizabeth Warren has proposed increasing the current 10% excise tax to 30%. Those taxes that have been supported by gun owners, hunters and fishermen for over 70 years in order to maintain wildlife, shooting ranges and outdoor recreation areas and are paid as an addition to the cost of the item. This proposal in in addition to her other proposal for government imposed limits on gun and ammunition purchases.
Ballot initiatives-2020
Florida:
Ban Assault Weapons Now!, an organization of anti-gun persons who want Floridians to think they are survivors of mass shootings in Orlando and Parkland, announced June 10 that it had obtained 103,000 signed petitions. This number should allow a Florida Supreme Court review of the proposed ballot question, a first step in the process of being put on the 2020 ballot. On July 29, 2019 Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a written opinion on the language of the proposed initiative. She also “requests the opportunity to present argument in opposition to placement of this proposed amendment on the ballot. The proposed amendment’s title and summary are not clear and unambiguous and do not comply with the requirements of section 101.161(1), Florida Statutes. Indeed, the title and summary should not be submitted to Florida voters because the title and summary fail to inform voters of the chief purpose of the proposed amendment and are affirmatively misleading.”
Oregon:
Initiative Petition 18 (IP18) has been filed. Petitioners must gather 1000 signatures to start the process for gathering signatures to put this measure on the ballot. IP18 is a proposal that would require all firearms to be locked unless being carried and stolen or lost firearms must be reported within 24 hours.
Washington:
Grassroots activists are busily collecting signatures on Initiative 1094, an initiative to the Legislature that would repeal the language of gun control initiative 1639, which passed in 2018. It’s the extremist measure that outlawed semi-automatic rifle purchases by young adults under age 21, and invented a new crime, “community endangerment.” It also created a definition for “semiautomatic assault rifle,” a gun that doesn’t actually exist. That definition applies to every semi-auto rifle ever manufactured.
Federal
Trump Impeachment: On October 30, 2019, the House of Representatives voted 232-196 to adopt a resolution to formalize their impeachment inquiry and adopt rules to govern the proceedings. 2 Democrats joined all Republicans in voting against the resolution. This is only the fourth time in U.S. history that impeachment has been formally been instigated. Hearing were held during the first two weeks in November.
House Judiciary Committee: The committee passed the following bills by straight party-line votes—Democrats voting aye and Republicans voting nay. The “Extreme Risk Protection Order Act of 2019,” H.R. 1236, a bill that would establish federal grants to state, local and tribal governments for the purpose of establishing a program designated to allow such governmental entities to remove a person’s Second Amendment rights, passed by a vote of 22-16.
H.R. 1186, the “Keep Americans Safe Act,” a bill to ban the sale, transfer and possession of magazines with more than 10 rounds, passed by a vote of 23-16. This bill as it is currently written would allow current owners to keep already owed magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds;
H.R. 2708, the “Disarm Hate Act,” this bill’s purpose is “to prevent a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, or received an enhanced sentence for a misdemeanor because of hate or bias in the commission, from obtaining a firearm.”
Six months ago the House passed two extreme gun control measures—H.R. 8, a universal background check bill, and H.R. 1112, a bill to extend the time from 3 days to 10 days if a prospective buyer is not cleared in a NICs check. These bills are still awaiting action in the U.S. Senate and could be incorporated into any new legislation that the House passes.
Judicial
N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inv. v. City of New York, New York.
This case is scheduled for argument before the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) on December 2, 2019. The original issue when this case was filed was: “Whether New York City’s ban on transporting a licensed, locked and unloaded handgun to a home or shooting range outside city limits is consistent with the Second Amendment, the commerce clause and the constitutional right to travel.” After SCOTUS agreed to hear this case in January 2019, the City of New York set into motion a frenzied effort to not only change their firearms regulations but to change state law. The hope by New York officials was that SCOTUS would then dismiss the case because it would no longer be applicable. On October 7 SCOTUS issued an order from their private conference in early October: “The Respondent’s Suggestion of Mootness is denied. The question of mootness will be subject to further consideration at oral argument, and the parties should be prepared to discuss it.” Thus the question of mootness will undoubtedly be raised during oral arguments, but before deciding upon the merits of the case, the Justices will have to decide whether the case is still relevant.
Anderson v. City of Pittsburgh:
The City of Pittsburgh after an antisemitism attack in a synagogue passed several ordinances regarding firearms and magazines. In Anderson v. City of Pittsburgh, the claim is that
“by banning the public possession and transportation of loaded standard-capacity firearm magazines that can carry more than ten rounds of ammunition, Pittsburgh has violated the rights of its citizens and exceeded its authority under Pennsylvania law.” The Allegheny Court of Common Pleas agreed that the ordinance was in violation of state law.”
Firearms Owners Against Crime, et al v. City of Pittsburgh:
In a similar lawsuit before the Allegheny Court of Common Please, the plaintiffs filed against all three ordinances—02018-1218, 2018-0219, and 2018-1220. The Court found for the plaintiffs: “Despite the City’s efforts to avoid the specific preemption set forth in § 6120, they are not able to avoid the obvious intent of the Legislature to preempt this entire field. The UFA purports to regulate firearms and ammunition in the Commonwealth whether a person is using, brandishing, carrying or loading them.”
Bass, Seaburg, The Second Amendment Foundation and The National Rifle Association v. City of Edmonds.
In 2018 the City of Edmonds, WA passed an ordinance to regulate how firearms must be stored within the city. The plaintiffs filed suit alleging that the “state of Washington has exclusive right to regulate the possession of firearms.” On Oct. 18 Judge Anita Farris ruled the ordinance “impermissibly regulates firearms in violation” of Washington’s 36-year-old preemption law. The City of Edmonds has appealed.
State Legislation
All 50 state legislatures were in session in 2019.
The following states are still in session:
Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
Legislation still viable in the following states will be carried over into the 2020 legislative session: AK, CA, DC, DE,
GA, HI, IL, IA, KS, ME, MA, MI, MN, NE, NH, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, SC, TN, VT, WA, WV House, WI
California:
The Legislature has adjourned. Carson —Mayor Albert Robles (D) has tried twice to pass an anti-gun resolution that targets gun stores and expands city zoning ordinances. In September the vote was tied at 2-2 so his resolution failed. It was brought back up on Nov. 19th and after a rancorous debate it failed 4-1 and it was stated by a Council member that this resolution may not be brought back again.
Illinois:
The Veto Session was held Oct. 28-30 and none of the gun control bills currently pending were considered. SB1966, adding many more restrictive provisions to the FOID cards and giving bureaucracy almost unlimited powers, passed the House 62-52. It now goes back to the Senate for consideration. Other bills under consideration: SB337 will create an electronic firearms transfer form that will lead to an electronic firearms registry. HB1467, to require the registration of all ammunition sales; SB107, a comprehensive ban on firearms and accessories; HB174, set requirement for reporting of firearms loss or theft; HB888, require FOID applicants to list social media accounts; revoke FOID cards if guns are reported lost in 3 incidents in 2 years; and HB892, ban firearms that include modern materials. SB44, a bill with just a title, by Sen. Michael Hastings, has just had an amendment (Senate Amendment 1 to SB44) added to have State Police designate “gun liaison officers” that would have the authority to seize Firearm Owner Identification Cards (FOID) and then seize all ammunition and firearms.
Kentucky:
The Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary held a hearing on Nov. 22 on “red flag laws.” No legislation has been introduced to date, but the 2020 legislative session begins on Jan. 14, 2020.
Massachusetts:
The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security held a hearing on firearms legislation. The list of bills that were on the agenda can be found at https://malegislature.gov/Events/Hearings/Detail/3247. The list includes over 40 anti-gun bills. When the committee will meet to make recommendations has not been scheduled.
Michigan:
HB4434, reducing the penalty for those that forgot to renew their Right-to-Carry Permits to a civil fine rather than a felony, passed the House 90-19.
New Hampshire:
A carry-over bill, HB687, allowing firearms seizure without due process was voted out by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and now it will be voted upon by the full House.
Ohio:
Two bills, SB223, banning bump stocks and high capacity magazines, and SB203, regulating firearms transfer at gun shows, were brought up before the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee on Nov. 6. HB178, a constitutional carry bill, was approved in the House Federalism Committee in June. It has been re-referred to the Criminal Justice and Rules and Reference Committees. In the past year 69,375 new carry licenses and almost 100,000 renewals were issued.
Pennsylvania:
On Nov. 20, three new anti-gun bills were introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee: HB2076, a person’s driver’s license may be revoked if that person’s license to carry a firearm expires or is revoked; HB2077, a mandatory safe storage of firearms bill with penalties; and HB2078, waiting period prior to possession of a “semi-automatic assault rifle.” Since bills introduced in 2019 carry over into the 2020 legislative session these bills can be considered next year. Finally, SB 147, a Sunday hunting bill that has been in the legislature for a long while, passed both Houses of the legislature in its amended form on Nov. 18, 2019 and now goes to Gov. Tom Wolf. This bill allows Sunday hunting on one Sunday for deer rifle season, deer archery season and one day “as determined by the commission.” Since the bill takes effect 90 days after it is signed into law, Sunday hunting will not take effect until the 2020 hunting season. HR604, A resolution declaring gun violence a social epidemic and condemning the National Rifle Association’s rhetoric, has been introduced and referred to Judiciary.
Wisconsin:
In a grandstand effort to get notoriety for his gun control position, Gov. Tony Evers issued a special session order on gun control. On Nov. 7 the session adjourned shortly after it began.
