By Tanya Metaksa
What’s New— Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) “pauses” new rule regarding business access to banks; Florida: SB498/H259, restore the right of self-defense in churchespasses Senate Judiciary Committee 7-4. It now goes to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee; Indiana: SB64, a school safety measure that is onerous for gun owners is before the Senate Education Committee; Iowa: both houses pass SJ8, a “Second Amendment” constitutional amendment; Maryland; SB309, has passed the Senate unanimously; Mississippi: SB2107, passed by Judiciary Committee, B. Montana: HB102, both Houses of the legislature passed this bill and it goes to Gov. Greg Gianforte: New Mexico: HB166, make manufacturing a firearm a felony offense, and HB193, adding more powers to police officers to enforce red flag laws, to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee on Feb 9. Pennsylvania: Introduced–HB361, nullifying state pre-emption law, HB364, destroying confiscated firearms; HB393, state dealer licensing; Virginia: Fairfax City Council considering a firearm restriction ordinance on Feb 9; Washington: Anti-gun bills, SB5078 and SB 5038 passed by Senate Committee–bill language now available. On Friday, Feb 5 the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee took no action on House Bill 1283, making open carry a felony offense.
Biden-Harris Administration
Not only is the Biden-Harris administration (B-HA) anti-gun it is also anti-small business, especially small business that is involved in firearms. The latest evidence is that there has been a “pause” in the publication of a rule by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). The rule which was proposed in November is a response to the Obama Administration’s Operation Choke Point. Although that agency is an “independent agency,” the “pause” happened after the B-HA was inaugurated. For an in-depth write up see this article.
In a message broadcast by CNN right before his inauguration, President Joe Biden stated:
“My first day in office, I’m going to send a bill to Congress repealing the liability protection for gun manufacturers, closing the background check loopholes and waiting period that now let too many people slip through the cracks.” Expect a bill to repeal the Protection Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) to be introduced soon.
Biden’s promise to launch a commission to “reform” the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is underway. According to The Blaze on the commission members in Caroline Fredrickson, an Obama Administration Justice Department deputy assistant attorney general who supports “ideal like court packing.”
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
Be prepared for an overactive and aggressive BATFE agency that is adversarial in both tone and substance under the Biden-Harris Administration.
U.S. Fish & Wildlife
According to the National Rifle Association (NRA) it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) “to assist in the recruitment, education, and retaining of sportsmen and women through NRA’s vast hunter education and outreach programs.”
2021 Gun Bills in the U.S. Congress
H.R. 38, the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, was introduced again by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC). This bill allows travelers to possess and receive a firearm under federal law if they have a government issued ID card and have a Right-to-Carry permit or reside in a state that allows lawful concealed carry. H.R. 95, remove silencers from definition of firearms.
Anti-Gun bills: Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), a member of the Judiciary Committee has at least three bills: H.R. 130, registration of firearms and ammunition owners and storage requirements; H.R. 121, hire 200 more BATFE agents; and H.R. 125, 7-day waiting period before transfer of semiautomatic firearm, silencer or auto piercing ammunition. H.R. 167, Al Green (D-TX), prohibit transfer of firearm at gun show except for an FFL.
2021 State Legislation
All state legislatures are in session in 2021. As of February 1, 2021 all states with the exception of Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio and Oklahoma are in session.
Arkansas:
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on January 13 on SB24, eliminating the duty fo retreat and was passed in the Senate on Jan. 19 by a vote of 27-7. It has been referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Colorado:
Although the Colorado Sun has reported that Colorado Democrats led by Rep. Tom Sullivan are pursuing gun control measures, to date no legislation has been listed on the legislative website.
Connecticut:
Both pro-gun and anti-gun bills have been introduced in 2021. HB5077, limiting emergency orders restricting firearms, and several bills limiting the local regulation of firearms: SB544, HB5384, HB5709, and HB5970. Anti-gun bills include HB5531, taxing ammunition, and SB125, one handgun per month
Florida:
pro-gun bill, SB498, has been introduced by Senator Joe Gruters and six other Senators. The House companion is HB259. SB498 was voted on in the Senate Judiciary Committee and passed by a party-line vote 7-4. All Senators listed in last week’s Grassroots Update voted in favor. It now goes to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. The following legislators are members of the committee and need to hear from you:
Chairman
Vice Chair:
Indiana:
HB1369, a constitutional carry bill, has been introduced.
Iowa:
SB64, an overreaching school safety measure, is before the Senate Committee on Education and Career Development. SJR7, proposing a “Second Amendment” to the Iowa constitution, was quickly passed in both the House and the Senate. Paul Lathrop has an excellent article on the Iowa constitutional amendment that will need to be passed by the voters in the 2022 election.
Kansas:
TheHouse Committee on Federal and State Affairs will be considering HB2059, a bill that would allow all persons with out-of-state Right-to-Carry permits to carry lawfully in Kansas.
Maryland:
SB309, allowing a Right-to-Carry applicant to get a preliminary approval prior to obtaining required training, has passed the Senate unanimously. It now goes to the House Judiciary Committee. HB175, requiring ammunition sellers to conduct a federal NICS background check, has been introduced and been assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
Massachusetts:
Among many anti-gun bills introduced are HD135, requiring background check for private gun sales, and HD136, requiring liability insurance for gun ownership.
Mississippi:
Senate Judiciary Committee considered SB2107, enhancing the state’s preemption law to include state agencies as an entity that is prohibited from restricting Second Amendment rights, and a substitute was passed.
Missouri:
HB52, allowing carrying of firearms for self-defense on public transport and in private vehicles, and HB212, allowing persons to keep their firearms and ammunition in their locked vehicle while on private property, will be heard by the House General Laws Committee on Feb. 1, 2021.
Montana:
The legislature began its session on Jan. 4. It will be in session until the end of April. HB102, a constitutional carry bill, was passed by the Judiciary Committee on Jan. 11 and was passed by the House Jan. 14 by a vote of 66-31. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 6-5.
Nebraska:
LB115, creating a waiting period for handgun purchases and increasing permit fees, has been introduced. Many pro-gun bills have been introduced and we will follow them as they process through Committees. The most important is LB300, that clarifies the current Castle Doctrine law and extends it to one’s vehicle.
New Mexico:
The House Judiciary Committee voted 8-2 in favor of HB102, appropriating $10 million from taxpayer dollars to a Violence Intervention Fund. These dollars are to go to municipalities and tribal governments for programs that focus on reducing “gun violence and aggravated assault.” This would give anti-gun groups and communities a fund to spread their agenda.
Oregon:
The legislature convened and many anti-gun bills have been filed. A summary of some of the bills can be found here.
Pennsylvania:
Introduced and sent toHouse Judiciary Committee. HB361, a bill to undo the firearms pre-emption statute, HB364, destroying confiscated firearms; and HB393, state firearms dealer licensing.
Rhode Island:
SB73, a bill to prohibit Right-to-Carry permittees from carrying at a school. The bill is sponsored by Senate President Dominick Ruggerio so it should be taken very seriously.
Texas:
The legislature convened on January 12 with a record number of profiled anti-gun bills. All Texans should contact their state legislators and urge them to vote against anti-gun bills.
Utah:
HB60, a bill allowing permit-less concealed carry, has passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 54-19-2 on January 26. It also passed the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Standing Committee.
Vermont:
A liberal Democrat Phil Baruth who biannually introduces anti-gun bills and is Vice-Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced 2 new bills this year. They are S4, a 48-hour waiting period for firearms transfers and S30, “banning firearms possession at certain places-childcare facilities, hospitals and certain public buildings.”
Virginia:
TheFirearms Subcommittee of the House Public Safety Committee defeated HB2310, allowing those who completed online instruction prior to the Jan. 1 ban to be able to apple for a Right-to-Carry permit through April 30, 2021, HB1773, constitutional carry, and HB1793, exempting Right-to-Carry permittees to be exempt from gun restrictive ordinances and the three anti-gun bills were quickly passed by the House of Delegates. They now go to the Senate. Those bills are HB2128, firearms transfer will have a 5-day waiting period, HB2276, prohibits the manufacture of firearms for personal use, and HB2295, bans firearms from Capitol Square and adjacent parking structures. HB2081, banning firearms at polling places, has passed the House Committee on Privileges and Elections.
Fairfax City: The Fairfax City Council is holding a hearing on Feb. 9 on an ordinance to ban firearms in certain places. Please send an email to the City Council members request that they oppose the “Firearm restriction ordinance.”
Washington:
Although on Friday, Feb 5 the House Civil Rights and Judiciary Committee took no action on House Bill 1283, making open carry a felony offense, it is still scheduled for consideration on Feb. 10 and 12. The Senate Law and Justice Committee passed a substitute for SB5078, legislation that originally banned so-called “high capacity” magazines holding more than 10 rounds but a substitute. The substitute changed the magazine limit to 17 rounds. SB5038, making open carry a crime for anyone attending a “demonstration”, was also passes at that meeting, and both are now before the Senate Rules Committee. HB1164, has not yet been considered by the Senate Law and Justice Committee. These bills have been introduced in past years and Dave Workman has an excellent article concerning problems with these bills.
Wyoming:
SF67, was filed on Jan. 19 that would allow citizens to carry guns into government meetings and schools, colleges and universities. The legislature will reconvene by Zoom on Jan. 27, while committees are meeting remotely to consider bills.
Deadlines to introduce bills have passed in the following states: Alabama-Jan. 27; N. Dakota-Jan. 25; Utah-Jan. 29 and Vermont-Jan. 29.
Judicial
We will be adding or following again those cases that have new challenges or decisions. New cases are added as they develop and some of these cases will be removed from this report if there is inactivity for a period of time. We will try and follow those cases that are active and impact the most gun owners.
Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. v. Hogan: The plaintiffs have asked US District court for the District of Maryland to declare the handgun qualification license law unconstitutional. Even the expert witness for the state of Maryland said that the purpose of this law was to “intimidate” citizens from exercising their rights.
Bennett, et al v. Davis, et al: This case was filed in November 2020 by individuals, the Firearms Policy Coalition, the Second Amendment Foundation and the New Jersey Second Amendment Society against local and state police officials challenging the State of New Jersey’s regulatory scheme that does not allow residents to “exercise their constitutional right to bear arms—both inside and outside of their homes.” This case was filed in the US District Court District of New Jersey.
