By Tanya Metaksa
TANYA METAKSA
What’s New— State Legislation:
Illinois—Veto session was held Oct. 28-30 and gun control legislation was not considered.
New Hampshire—HB 687, firearms seizure bill, has been sent to the House floor for a vote. Pennsylvania— Both houses of legislature pass SB 147, Sunday hunting bill, now goes to Governor Wolf, gun violence is a social epidemic and NRA rhetoric is inflammatory;
Wisconsin-Gov. Tony Evers convened a special session on Gun Control that adjourned without any action.
Judicial-
Anderson v. City of Pittsburgh & Firearms Owners Against Crime, et al v. City of Pittsburgh—Pittsburgh found in violation of preemption law;
N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inv. 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 appears ready to run for the Democratic nomination for President. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s firearms and ammunition excise tax increase proposal.
2019 Elections
Kentucky:
Gov. Matt Bevin (R) has conceded his loss to Attorney General Andy Beshear (D). In the race for Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R), who was general counsel to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, was the first African American elected to this office. All the other constitutional officers elected were Republicans.
Louisiana:
Democrat John Bel Edwards, the only Democrat sitting governor in the South, was re-elected by a margin of 40,000 votes. Although President Trump campaigned vigorously for the Republic candidate, Eddie Rispone, Trump was unable to get him elected. Edwards campaigned as a conservative Democrat touting his pro-life and pro-gun policies.
Mississippi:
Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) was victorious over State Attorney Jim Hood 53%-47%.
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 Bloomberg’s gun control organizations.
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.
In July, 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.”
Washington:
Grassroots activists are busily collecting signatures on Initiative 1094, a measure to the Legislature that would repeal the language of gun control initiative 1639, which passed in 2018. I-1639 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: Open hearings have commenced, with partisan opinions on what is being said and what may or may not be accomplished.
The NRA and Russia (U.S. Senate Committee on Finance Minority Staff Report). In September, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Finance Committee, issued a report subtitled “How A Tax-Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset.” The 78-page report is full of innuendo about what transpired at several NRA Annual meetings as well as a trip that some NRA members of the Board including Pete Brownell (at the time NRA Vice-President) took to Russia in 2015. This report is substantially based on information supplied by the NRA and its officers, but is influenced by the fact that Maria Butina, a Russian citizen who was instrumental in enabling an NRA trip to Moscow, was accused of acting as a foreign agent by the US government. She was convicted and deported following release from prison.
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 Dec. 2.
Anderson v. City of Pittsburgh:
The Allegheny Court of Common Pleas agreed that the ordinance was in violation of state law and ruled against Pittsburgh.
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 also found for the plaintiffs.
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 filed notice of appeal.
State Legislation
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 that a felony, passed the House 90-19.
New Hampshire:
A carry-over bill, HB687, allowing firearms seizure without due process is scheduled to be 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 on June 26. It has been re-referred to the Criminal Justice and Rules and Reference Committees on June 28 and June 30. In the past year 69,375 new carry licenses and almost 100,000 renewals were issued.
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.
