HAPPY NEW YEAR
By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—Biden Administration pushing to stifle international gun commerce? Hawaii: It’s 2024 and no one without a valid permit can buy a firearm in the state; New Mexico: Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is working hard to pass more gun control in the one-month session starting on Jan. 16.
According to Peter Drucker “Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window.” But knowing the past I am sure most readers will agree that unless something earth-shattering occurs, blue states will keep trying to undermine the Second Amendment, while the remainder will push for new anti-2A initiatives.
With 27 states having passed Constitutional Carry there are only a few states remaining where such a law is probably possible: Louisiana and possibly North Carolina. We have seen that type of activity in lawsuits filed on such laws as the California Assault Weapons ban where 27 states on Dec. 29, filed an amicus brief in favor of the plaintiffs (gun owners) in Miller v. Bonta.
In New Mexico we are expecting a push to ban semiautomatic rifles and expanding their “red flag” law. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez has said he wants to expand the state’s red flag law by giving police greater power to enforce it unilaterally. Other states such as Michigan and Colorado have just gotten started in promoting anti-gun legislation.
Finally at the federal level we have the Biden Administration increasing its attack on the Second Amendment and its supporters. They are trying to find any excuse for more regulation and more enforcement. Despite Drummer’s warning, I believe 2024 will be a repeat of 2023 and the future will be determined on November 4.
Biden Administration
In the 2023 Legislative Wrap Up I covered the Biden Administration’s ongoing war on law-abiding gun owners. They have tried three different ATF regulatory encroachments with 2 out of 3 clogging up the Judicial system with lawsuits. The last regulatory proposal’s comment period ended less than a month ago, thus the published regulation could be announced any day now. Now, The Reload has published a story about a Biden Administration draft proposal that has as its alleged purpose halting international gun trafficking. The draft document is available here. On Dec. 14, Larry Keane, National Shooting Sports Foundation General Counsel, authored an article with the title “House Subcommittee seeks answers on suspicious BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security in the U.S. Department of Commerce) 90-day Firearm Export ‘Pause’. Mr. Keane calls this ‘pause’ “another example of the Biden administration’s hyper focused attacks on the lawful firearm industry.” Interestingly Israel and Ukraine are currently exempt from this October ‘pause’, but there is no such exemption in the current draft document.
The hearing described by Keene was held before the House of Representative’s Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee under the chairmanship of Rep. Brian Mast on Tuesday, Dec. 12, after the original hearing had been postponed from November. The bureaucrat on the hot seat was the Assistant Secretary for Commerce for Export Administration, Thea Rozman Kendler. Both Chairman Mast (R-FL) and Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) asked Kendler pointed questions that she appeared unable to answer. According to Keen Burchett’s final question was, “Did anyone at the Commerce Department have conversations with the White House Office on Gun Violence Prevention prior to this decision?” She did not answer Burchett’s question, but Keene wrote, “NSSF has heard from reliable sources who say that is exactly who BIS has been talking to about their new policy, along with Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) officials and the Deputy Attorney General’s office.” We should expect more Congressional interest in this new gun control push in as the ‘pause’ expires in January 2024.
Legislation and local communities
States that begin their sessions in January: Arizona, Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
States that do NOT hold legislative sessions in 2024: Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas.
Hawaii: Part of last year’s SB1230 required gun purchasers to get a handgun permit to enable them to not only carry but purchase a handgun. And the permit requires a training program that has not been certified by any local police departments. Therefore, as of Jan. 1, 2024 permits will not be available. According to Island News gun owners in Honolulu were lined up early on the last day before the holiday closings in Honolulu.
Background: Following the Bruen decision the legislature passed SB1230 in early June that regulated where and how firearms could be carried in Hawaii. In response Wolford v. Lopez, addressing the issues of “sensitive places” was filed. The District Court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and a Preliminary Injunction (PI) on Aug. 8, 2023, for several of the issues. On Aug. 15, the Attorney General of Hawaii has on “an emergency basis for an order staying the district court’s appealable temporary restraining order pending an appeal and for an immediate administrative stay pending the Court’s consideration of Appellant’s stay request.”Then on Oct. 5, Hawaii filed its opening brief with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. However, no case was filed addressing the permitting process in 2023. I would venture a guess that this issue will be addressed in 2024.
New Mexico: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is working hard to pass more gun control in the one-month session starting on Jan. 16, 2024.The Courts, Corrections & Justice Committee have endorsed a 14-day waiting period on all firearms purchases and a ban on carrying near polling places and ballot drop boxes. Governor Lujan has said she will support Senator Marin Heinrich’s GOSAFE bill that he introduced last session but failed to pass. The bill actually passes a ban on semi-automatic rifles “other tan .22 caliber.” A description of this unconstitutional bill can be found here.
