Wyoming Gun Bill Clears Senate Committee With Amendment

Some good news and some bad news for supporters of a Wyoming  bill that would block any federal bans on  semi-automatic firearms or attempts to limit the size of magazines.

HB104 cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, but an amendment removed criminal penalties for federal agents attempting to enforce a gun ban.

The measure passed the House 46-13 with the criminal penalties intact. Senate committee members reportedly expressed concern about the constitutionality of criminal charges for federal agents. The amendment does call on the state Attorney General to defend citizens’ gun rights.

House sponsor Rep. Kendell Kroeker expressed disappointment with the Senate committee action, but said there remains an opportunity to get the penalties back in the bill. He urged Wyoming citizens to take action.

“The version passed out of the Senate committee basically now says that the federal government can come take your guns, but the state will not assist them. So it completely lost its purpose,” he said. “Please e-mail the Senate and ask them to give the bill time to be heard on the floor and to remove the committee amendment and restore the bill to its original purpose. If it passes the Senate in its amended form, the House will have to vote to accept the changes. If we do not accept the changes, it will go to a conference committee. So there is still the possibility it can be fixed, but it would be best to get it fixed before it comes out of the Senate.”

Tenth Amendment Center communications director Mike Maharrey said he’d like to see the criminal penalties reinstated, but even the amended version of the bill would have some impact.

“The feds depend on state cooperation to do most of the things they do. So, simply refusing to comply can throw a huge monkey wrench in their plans. Northern non-compliance with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 pretty much shut down federal slave catching. So, we know it can be effective,” he said. “That said, we’d like to see the penalties back in the bill. If the feds try to ban certain weapons, they’re the ones violating the Constitution. They’re breaking the law – the highest law in the land. Don’t we charge lawbreakers with a crime? I don’t see the problem here.”

ACTION ITEMS

If you live in Wyoming, contact your Senator and urge him/her to support HB104 with penalties included. Also contact Senate President Tony Ross and urge him to give time and consideration to remove the amendment.  You can find Senate contact information HERE.

You can track state effort to defend the Second Amendment and find model legislation HERE.