Hickory Record – by Frank Bumb
HICKORY, N.C. – State legislators for Catawba County want the federal government to keep their hands off North Carolina residents’ guns.
State Reps. Jay Adams (R-District 96) and Mitchell Setzer (R-District 89) are the primary sponsors behind House Bill 886 (HB886), the Second Amendment Preservation Act.
The bill prevents any enforcement of a federal law that “infringes on a law-abiding citizen’s right to keep and bear arms.”
The law then specifically targets federal laws that:
» Imposes a tax, fee or stamp on firearms, firearm accessory or ammunition not common to all other goods that would have a chilling effect on firearm ownership.
» Requires the registration or tracking of a firearm, firearm accessory or firearm ammunition that would have a chilling effect on firearm ownership.
» Prohibits possession, ownership, use or transfer of a firearm, accessory or ammunition.
» Orders the confiscation of a firearm, firearm accessory or ammunition from a law-abiding citizen.
“I’m very supportive of Second Amendment rights, and I believe the people in my district are as well,” Setzer said.
The law follows a trend among state legislatures attempting to reject federal gun laws within state borders.
According to a Washington Post article from Aug. 29, 2014, more than 38 states have proposed nullification laws since 2008, with half of such bills coming in the two years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Conn. Only three of those bills were introduced before President Barack Obama took office.
But the federal government has hit back at such legislation, citing the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The clause states the “Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; (…)shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.”
Jeff Welty, an associate professor of public law and government at the UNC School of Government, said federal courts have usually upheld federal gun control laws.
“If a state tried to enact a law or (state) constitutional provision contrary to a duly-enacted, and constitutionally-proper federal law, the Supremacy Clause would not permit the state law to be effective,” Welty said.
But Welty said not every federal gun control law has been argued in the courts.
“This could be a bill to set up the type of (state and federal) conflict that will allow the constitutionality of certain gun laws to be tested in court,” Welty said.
Setzer said he is awaiting the interpretation of General Assembly legislative staff on whether HB886 would run afoul of the Supremacy Clause.
“Anything like this (bill) is going to be challenged if it (becomes law),” Setzer said. “But if we can get it to where things are not a gray area, it’d be a good thing to settle it once and all.”
Are there any suppressor manufacturers in NC?
I refuse to pay a $200 permission tax to the criminal ATF for something that allows me to shoot without disturbing my neighbors.
I would like to help my local NC economy as well as be a conscientious person who can practice shooting without disturbing those around me.