A bill intended to “invalidate and nullify all federal laws and regulations restricting ownership or possession of firearms” has been pre-filed in the Bluegrass State.

Kentucky State Representative Diane St. Onge has filed House Bill 13 (HB13) which directs the Kentucky General Assembly “to take all appropriate action to safeguard Kentuckian’s rights to possess firearms in accordance with the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Section 1 of the Constitution of Kentucky.

The bill seeks to nullify all federal gun control measures on the books: past, present and future. It reads, in part:

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky finds and declares that all federal acts, laws, orders, rules and regulations regarding firearms, present or future, are a violation of the sections and amendments to the Constitution of the United States specified in Section 1 of this Act and are:

(a) Invalid in this Commonwealth;

(b) Not recognized by the Commonwealth;

(c) Considered null and void by the Commonwealth; and

(d) Of no effect in this Commonwealth

“We’re making a statement here about what we hold true, what we believe in here in Kentucky,” St. Onge said.

With a recent NRA report suggesting that President Obama intends to try an “end-run around Congress” to push additional federal gun control measures, supporters say the Kentucky bill, along with another recently introduced in Texas, are essential.

“The 2nd Amendment is in danger, the states need to protect it from federal violation,” said Michael Boldin, executive director of the Tenth Amendment Center.  “In 1798, Thomas Jefferson authored a resolution for Kentucky calling on states to stop federal overreach, and it’s pretty hard to argue that the guy who wrote the Declaration of Independence was wrong about how to stop federal power,” Boldin continued.

The bill creates a requirement for the state to take additional action to stop enforcement of federal gun laws, rules, executive orders, and regulations.  It reads:

It shall be the duty of the Kentucky General Assembly to adopt and enact any and all measures as may be necessary to prevent the enforcement of any federal act, law, order, rule, or regulation in violation of the sections of and amendments to the Constitution of the United States specified in Section 1 of this Act.

The next step would be to pass a 2nd Amendment Preservation Act barring state cooperation with enforcement of any federal firearms laws. Since a vast majority of federal enforcement actions require the leadership, help and/or assistance of state or local governments, agents and resources – widespread refusal to enforce or participate in enforcement will severely cripple federal efforts.

Judge Andrew Napolitano confirmed this by saying that such noncompliance over an entire state would make federal gun laws “nearly impossible to enforce.”

HB13 has been assigned to the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary. When the session starts in 2015, it will first need to pass out of committee before the full house can consider it.

ACTION ITEMS

For Kentucky:

1.  Find your state representative at this link: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/legislators.htm

2.  Call him or her – a phone call has far more impact than an email.  Strongly, but politely ask them to co-sponsor and support HB13.

3. If they do not commit to a YES, ask them why and let us know.

4.  If they’re undecided, let them know you’ll give them some time to review the legislation and that you will call back in a week to follow up.

5.  Chip in to help spread the word in support of this and other pro-2nd Amendment legislation in Kentucky.  Just a small amount can reach thousands.  HERE:  https://shallnot.nationbuilder.com/kentucky_support

ALL Other States:

Contact your state legislators today – urge them to introduce the 2nd Amendment Preservation Act. Model legislation and additional information can be found here:  ShallNot.org/legislation

Scott Landreth

The 10th Amendment

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