Alex Newman
New
American
Jan 12, 2013
As the Obama administration plots
various assaults on gun rights by “executive order” and legislation,
proposals described
as “very extreme” even by some Democrats, state lawmakers in Wyoming have
another idea. Republican legislators are rallying behind nullification
legislation that would void unconstitutional infringements on the right to keep
and bear arms, even providing prison time for any federal agents who may try to
enforce Washington, D.C., gun control in the state. Lawmakers expect it to
pass.
The new bill, H.B.
0104 or the “Firearms Protection Act,” would nullify
any new federal infringements on the constitutionally protected gun rights of
state residents — who enjoy some of the lowest crime rates while being among the
most heavily armed people in America. Unconstitutional federal gun registration
schemes, as well as restrictions on semi-automatic guns or standard-capacity
magazines, would also be nullified under the legislation.
There are teeth in the proposed law too: Any federal official attempting to
enforce unconstitutional statutes or decrees infringing on gun rights passed
after January 1 of this year would be charged with a felony. If convicted,
criminal officials would be punished by up to five years in state prison and a
$5,000 fine. The legislation also authorizes the state attorney general to
defend citizens of Wyoming if federal authorities seek prosecutions under
unconstitutional gun control rules.
At least eight state representatives and two state senators have already
sponsored the legislation. And nationwide, support for similar measures is
exploding. “We want to get things ahead of the game,” Republican state Rep.
Kendell Kroeker, the primary sponsor of the bill, told the Huffington Post. “We take the Second
Amendment seriously in Wyoming…. If the federal government is going to pass laws
taking back our rights, it is our right as a state to defend those rights.”
Citing his oath to support and defend the U.S. and state constitutions, state
Rep. Kroeker has been a leader in standing against lawless usurpations of power
by the federal government. In a previous session, he introduced legislation to
increase the use of gold as currency in the state, for example. “I take an oath
to uphold, support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the
Constitution of Wyoming,” Kroeker continued, telling reporters that his
constituents and activists nationwide were thrilled by the move. “I believe it
is my duty to take that oath seriously.”
In a separate interview with the Associated Press, the liberty-minded
lawmaker noted that there are “a lot of people” who would seek to take
all of Americans’ guns — at least if they could. The only thing restraining
them, Kroeker said, is public opposition as well as other lawmakers who take
their oaths seriously and are concerned about protecting the people’s
unalienable rights.
“We’re a sovereign state with our own constitutional form of government,” he
told the AP. “We’ve got a right to make our laws, and if the federal government
is going to try to enforce unconstitutional laws on our people and take away the
rights of Wyoming citizens, then we as a state are going to step up and make
that a crime.”
In the state Senate, another co-sponsor of the legislation, Wyoming State
Senator Larry Hicks, cited the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which
reserves all powers not specifically granted to the federal government to the
states or the people. The nullification bill, he added in an interview with
the Washington Examiner, will send a message to federal politicians
considering further infringements on the rights of his constituents.
“It says that your one size fits all solution doesn’t comport to what a vast
majority of the state believes,” Sen. Hicks told the paper about the message federal politicians should be
taking from the legislation, telling other reporters that state lawmakers were
receiving e-mails in support of the bill from all across America and that
citizens were urging their own states to take similar action. “I don’t think
this is controversial in Wyoming at all…. I fully expect this bill to pass.”
According to the liberty-minded state senator, even if Congress refuses to
budge, the administration is determined to restrict gun ownership by
presidential decree. “I think that’s the biggest threat we’re facing,” he told
the AP. Sen. Hicks also said that his constituents were “absolutely terrified”
about threats from Washington to assault gun rights — especially Vice President
Joe Biden’s pledge this week to implement the lawless attack by executive
order.
“They are very, very upset that we’re going to see some level of federal
takeover of our weapons and abuse of our rights given to us by the Second
Amendment,” the state senator was quoted as saying, referring to his
constituents. “Also, that the federal government will bypass our legislative
officials and confiscate our weapons through executive order. This gives
citizens of the Western United States a great deal of concern.”
The AP, in an uncharacteristically honest assessment, pointed out that Wyoming has one of the highest rates of
per-capita gun ownership in America, and that it also has among the lowest
levels of gun violence. “Part of it’s our culture,” Hicks explained. “Our kids
grow up around firearms, and they also grow up hunting, and they know what the
consequences are of taking a life. And they know at an early age, whether you
hunt or fish, that there’s consequences from pulling that trigger. We’re not
insulated from the real world in Wyoming.”
At least one Democrat, Rep. James Byrd, has already expressed his opposition
to the plan. “If you want to pick a fight with the feds, let’s pick a fight with
the feds that’s about something that means something,” he was quoted as saying
by the AP while claiming to be a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. It
was not immediately clear why Byrd thought the unalienable right to keep and
bear arms — enshrined in both the Wyoming and U.S. constitutions — was not
meaningful.
Predictably, Obama apparatchiks funded by billionaire statist George Soros
are already crying foul, too. The far-left “Think Progress” blog, for example,
claimed that nullification would be unconstitutional. “The constitution actually
stipulates that federal law ‘shall be the supreme law of the land,’” Annie-Rose
Strasser alleged falsely, without pointing out the constitutional stipulation that federal laws must be “made in
pursuance” with the Constitution. It was not clear whether the writer was
simply ignorant of American history and the U.S. Constitution, or whether the
false statements were deliberate lies in an effort to confuse readers.
Some analysts quoted in the establishment press, also presumably unfamiliar
with history
or the U.S. Constitution, have claimed that states may not nullify
unconstitutional federal usurpations as well. Of course, American history is
replete with examples of nullification — Wisconsin nullified a federal statute
purporting to require the return of escaped slaves to their masters, for
example. Even Founding Fathers like Thomas Jefferson helped states void
unconstitutional legislation in the early years of the Republic.
More recently, states all across America have been putting their foot down.
Even causes traditionally associated with liberals, such as marijuana
legalization, have succeeded through nullification — Colorado
and Washington state both legalized the controversial plant in November, and
many other states have approved it for medical use in spite of unconstitutional
federal statutes. Conservatives and libertarians have also been relying on nullification,
especially in recent years.
As the increasingly out-of-control federal government tries to restrict more
and more of Americans’ unalienable rights — with the Second Amendment just the
latest target — state lawmakers all across the country are taking action. A bill just introduced in Indiana known as the Firearm
Freedom Act, for instance, would also protect the rights of gun owners to be
free from federal regulations if the gun was produced and purchased in the
state. Similar legislation has already been adopted
in other states.
Meanwhile, law-enforcement
officials, such as sheriffs and police chiefs, are also developing
legal strategies to protect gun rights in their jurisdictions, with some lobbying
for nullification measures as well. As The New American reported
this week, while the Obama administration seeks
to severely infringe on the Second Amendment, talk of mass
resistance nationwide is growing in tandem. The president may believe he can
violate the Constitution by decree, but it appears that many states have had
just about enough of the lawlessness. If Congress refuses to rein in the
out-of-control administration, state governments may have to do it instead.
Saturday, January 12, 2013
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