By the Tenth Amendment Center
AUSTIN, Tex. (May 7, 2013) – Today, the Texas State House approved a bill that would render almost all federal gun control measures toothless. House Bill 928 (HB928), by Representative Matthew Krause, was approved on 3rd reading by a wide margin. The final vote was 102-31 (roll call here).
If passed into law, HB928 would require that the state refuse to enforce almost all federal gun control measures enacted at anytime – past, present or future. It reads, in part:
An agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, and a law enforcement officer or other person employed by an agency of this state or a political subdivision of this state, may not contract with or in any other manner provide assistance to a federal agency or official with respect to the enforcement of a federal statute, order, rule, or regulation purporting to regulate a firearm, a firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition if the statute, order, rule, or regulation imposes a prohibition, restriction, or other regulation, such as a capacity or size limitation or a registration requirement, that does not exist under the laws of this state.
This would make a HUGE dent in any new federal effort to further restrict the right to keep and bear arms in Texas. As Judge Andrew Napolitano has said recently, such widespread noncompliance can make a federal law “nearly impossible to enforce” (video here). Quite simply, the federal government absolutely cannot enforce gun control in Texas without the help of Texas.
Surprisingly, an amendment was added in committee that actually made the bill stronger. It now includes a penalty for any local government which refuses to follow the proposed law. This includes a loss of state grant funding and the ability of individual Texans to file a complaint with the Attorney General against the local government violating their rights.
A political subdivision of this state may not receive state grant funds if the political subdivision adopts a rule, order, ordinance, or policy under which the political subdivision requires the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation described by Subsection (b) or, by consistent actions, requires the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation described by Subsection (b). State grant funds for the political subdivision shall be denied for the fiscal year following the year in which a final judicial determination in an action brought under this section is made that the political subdivision has intentionally required the enforcement of any federal statute, order, rule, or regulation
Krause, a first year representative in Texas was proud to see his first bill to hit the house floor move forward with bipartisan support.
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