Texas State Rep Introduces Bill Banning Enforcement of Federal Gun Laws

A Texas State Representative has introduced a bill which would ban the enforcement of federal gun laws in the Lone Star State.

According to the Tenth Amendment Center, the language of HB 176, which was brought forward by Representative Tim Kleinschmidt (R-Lexington), specifically states that the measure was designed to protect Texas citizens from a law that “infringes on a law-abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.”

If the bill is enacted, government agencies and employees in Texas would be barred from enforcing a federal law in violation of the act. This includes any law that:

(1) imposes a tax, fee, or stamp on a firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition that is not common to all other goods and services and may be reasonably expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by a law-abiding citizen;

(2) requires the registration or tracking of a firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition or the owners of those items that may be reasonably expected to create a chilling effect on the purchase or ownership of those items by a law-abiding citizen;

(3) prohibits the possession, ownership, use, or transfer of a firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition by a law-abiding citizen;

(4) orders the confiscation of a firearm, firearm accessory, or firearm ammunition from a law-abiding citizen.

As the Tenth Amendment Center notes, Kleinschmidt previously helped get a law passed that “prohibits public and private colleges and universities from adopting administrative rules banning the possession, transportation and storage of lawfully-owned firearms and ammunition in private motor vehicles by students and visitors with Concealed Handgun Licenses (CHLs).”

Similar legislation to HB 176 has been passed in Idaho, Alaska and Kansas. However, as the Tenth Amendment Center notes, the bill will first be assigned to a committee, where it will need to pass before it can receive consideration from the full state house.

Read more: http://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com