Taking a look at proposed firearms legislation

Our current legislative session has been going for a little over a month so far, and things have been “interesting” in Juneau. To date, our legislators have managed to zero out the PFD amount in the working budget owed Alaskan citizens and several firearms-related bills have been introduced. Some are well intentioned but unconstitutionally bad and others would have a positive impact on our Second Amendment rights. Let’s take a look at this proposed firearms legislation.

Information we’ll be discussing came from either the National Rifle Association (NRA) or a group identified as Alaska Gun Rights. We’ll begin with items from the latter group.

SB 49, sponsored by Senator Claman (D – Anchorage) is a bill which would let employers file secret “workplace violence protective orders” based on vague allegations. The effect would be that a court could strip away a person’s gun rights without evidence, trial, or conviction. With no clear definitions of “violence” or “threats,” this legislation would give government sweeping power to disarm law-abiding citizens through accusations alone.

HB 89 sponsored by Representative Josephson (D – Anchorage) is another attempt to get a “red flag” law on the books for Alaska. These types of laws would allow anyone to file a complaint against anyone else because they “think” that person poses a danger to society. With that action, the government could order the seizure of all firearms belonging to the “suspect” individual. This is all done behind the “suspect’s” back, usually with no knowledge of what’s happening. This “secret” action violates several constitutional rights of the suspect, including due process, search and seizure, and the right to confront one’s accuser.

SB 203, sponsored by Senator Tobin (D – Anchorage) would expand and redefine a so-called “prohibited weapon” using vague and undefined language, making ownership and mire possession of these items a strict-liability felony. Things which are currently legal to own could suddenly make a law-abiding Alaskan citizen a felon.

SB 206, sponsored by Senator Tobin (D – Anchorage) disguises gun control as ‘school safety’ and ‘suicide prevention,’ embedding firearms into a school reporting system and inviting state pressure on families without due process, a warrant and without any allegation of wrongdoing.

These are all gun grabbing legislation bills and, interestingly enough, are all sponsored by liberal Anchorage democrats. What does that suggest to you?

A couple of other bills to watch include SB 3, Safe Schools Act, and SB 136, Firearms Financial Privacy Act. SB 3 would require school districts to assign the job duty of concealed carry to at least one qualified individual per school who meets the established criteria. SB 136 would safeguard the privacy and rights of individuals and businesses engaged in lawful firearms transactions. This bill, if enacted, would address concerns about financial institutions and payment networks potentially discriminating against firearms retailers and customers, as well as the unauthorized creation of firearms ownership registries.

The following information is from a legislative alert sent by the NRA. SB 243 removes suppressors from the controlled weapons list at the state level. This legislation is critical to ensure that future changes in Federal law do not prevent law-abiding Alaskans from possessing and utilizing suppressors to protect their hearing while hunting or exercising their Second Amendment rights.

If you haven’t heard, at the beginning of this year, the federal $200 tax needed to be paid when applying to buy a suppressor was removed and is no longer required. All the other paperwork requirements of fingerprinting, background checks, photos, etc., remain in place. However, several pro-gun groups are working to have suppressors removed entirely from federal regulations.

I would urge you to look up these bills on the legislative website and read them. Whether you agree or disagree with the proposed bill, you should then contact your state legislator and tell them your thoughts and whether you support the bill or not. If you don’t support the respective bill, this is an election year and legislators can be changed or, at least, be made aware of their constituents’ disagreement with tactics or political views.

Some of these bills are about as anti-gun as it gets while others are “common sense” approaches to things which have plagued our society for years. For instance, the “red flag” bill violates the constitution in several areas while the Safe Schools Act would provide an on-site first line of defense for the kids if something went wrong. Remember the saying, ”when seconds count, the police are only minutes away” as we have seen repeatedly with school shootings.