By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New—California: Governor Newsom appoints Laphonza Butler to serve as U.S. Senator until the 2024 election; Colorado—Oct. 1, 2023 was the date that Colorado HB1219, mandating a three-day waiting period law, became effective. Florida: On October 2 Attorney General Ashley Moody issued an opinion concerning Florida law dealing with short barreled rifles; New Mexico: Donk v. Grisham, Judge David H. Urias extended the temporary injunction against Gov. Grisham’s health order until October 11. Industry News: S&W opens new facility in Tennessee; Liberty Safes issue new policy on safe security.
U.S. Congress
The vote on Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, H.R.5110, was 421-1 in the House and passed in the Senate by unanimous consent. It has been presented to the President who has said he will sign it but has not done so yet.
Politics
California: Upon the death of Democrat Senator Diane Feinstein, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he would appoint a black woman to take her place. He was very definite that this new Senator would not be any of the people who have already announced their candidacy for the 2024 general election. Surprisingly he appointed Laphonza Butler, a black activist who is the President of Emily’s List since 2021. Although she has a history of working in California politics, including as an advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, she moved to Maryland in 2021 and was registered to vote in that state. Due to Feinstein’s death there will be two elections for U.S. Senator. One election will be to serve out the remaining two years of Feinstein’s term and the other for a full six-year term for the seat currently held by Senator Alex Padilla, who was appointed to fill out Harris’ term.
Legislatures/Local communities
The following states are currently in session: California, Indiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Wisconsin. The states that are still in session but in recess are: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Colorado—Oct. 1 was the date that Colorado HB1219 became effective. In a tweet by Second Amendment scholar David Kopel, he demolishes the arguments that the legislature used when they passed this three-day waiting period, especially the study quoted in the legislative history. The testimony is listed on his website.
Florida: As a result of a request from Representative Shane Abbott regarding Florid law and short-barreled-rifles, Attorney General Ashley Moody released an opinion on October 2, 2023 regarding the use of stabilizing braces for handguns in Florida. Her opinion reads:
“Unless and until judicially or legislatively clarified, I conclude that the definition of ‘short-barreled rifle,’ which the Legislature enacted in 1969, does not include a handgun, such as a pistol, to which a person attaches a stabilizing brace, because the use of such an optional accessory does not change the fundamental characteristics of the handgun.”
Additionally last February Florida joined a lawsuit, Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition v. Merrick Garland that requested the US District Court for the Western District of North Dakota to seek an injunction concerning the ATF rule on pistol braces. Joining Florida in that lawsuit are the states of West Virginia, North Dakota, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, And Wyoming,
New Mexico: On Sept. 13 the first of several lawsuits against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s unconstitutional edict against the carrying of firearms in several counties in New Mexico was filed. Donk v. Grisham was considered by Judge David H. Urias who granted the plaintiffs’ motion for a Temporary Restraining Order. The TRO is in effect “until such time as the Court has ruled on the Plaintiffs motions for a preliminary injunction.” Additionally at the hearing on Oct. 3, Judge Urias extended his Temporary Restraining Order for another week.
Gun Industry News
Smith & Wesson—The northeastern states during the period from the founding of our country through the middle of the Twentieth Century were the manufacturing hub of this country. The firearms industry was a big part of that community. However, after the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968 there was a shift that became a tsunami when the victims’ lobby and its lawyers decided the firearms industry was fair game and could be attacked in order to file lawsuits for compensatory damages. These lawsuits led to the industry’s reassessing their location. Most of the industry has relocated away from Connecticut and Massachusetts.
This past Saturday AP news had an article about one of the last firearms’ manufacturers to move from Massachusetts, Smith & Wesson (see related story). The opening paragraph summer it up succinctly, “Gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson hosted a grand opening of its new Tennessee headquarters Saturday after moving from its longtime home in Massachusetts to a more gun-friendly state.”
Liberty Safes—In September it was widely reported how the manufacturer of safes had acknowledged that it had voluntarily given the FBI the code to a safe when asked in response to a search warrant. Many Liberty safe owners were understandably unhappy to hear not only had the company given the FBI a way of accessing the contents of the safe, but that there was a “backdoor” available to get into the safe.
After the backlash from customers, they are allowing customers to have the code expunged from Liberty Safes’ records. On Oct. 4, they announced the “publication of a comprehensive set of consumer privacy protections.” Their updated policies can be found here.
