Sunday, November 10, 2013

We Need Better Legislators

Rep. John Becker has a stupid idea:
House Bill 340, sponsored by Rep. John Becker, R-Union Twp., would exempt all firearms manufactured and sold in Ohio from federal law and regulation. Firearms produced in Ohio would be stamped “Made in Ohio.” The bill excludes machine guns, bombs and weapons that cannot be operated solely by one person.
Becker’s not sure which federal laws or restrictions would be impacted by the changes he’s proposing but said the bill will do two things:
  • Assert Ohio’s sovereignty to an increasingly intrusive federal government
  • Encourage firearm manufacturers to open up shop in Ohio

“[The feds] use the Commerce Clause or General Welfare clause to effectively make the Constitution do and say anything they want it to do or say, which is very much the opposite of the original intent of the Constitution,” Becker said.
The bill cites the Second, Ninth and Tenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution to justify the change.
Montana passed a “Firearm Freedom Act” in 2009, and other states have passed similar legislation: Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Wyoming. Nearly identical legislation failed to move out of an Ohio House committee in 2009. That bill had about 10 more cosponsors than the three who have signed on to Becker’s.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials told Montana firearm manufacturers that federal law supercedes the Montana law and pro-gun rights groups there have filed suit against the feds. Two courts ruled in favor of the government, and the pro-gun groups plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
So just a couple quick questions, how does Rep. Becker propose to make sure these "Made in Ohio" guns don't enter interstate commerce and would this mean an Ohioan would not be able to take this gun with him out of state?  Really, there is no need to take this legislation seriously, because it isn't serious.  The guy doesn't even know which laws he's proposing the guns would be exempt from.  Could we just not propose stupid bills?  Just a tip, if similar bills are only passed in states such as Arizona, Idaho, Kansas or Tennessee probably are pretty stupid and/or unconstitutional laws.  Luckily, most Ohio Republican leaders are smart enough to bottle stupidity like this up in committee.

No comments:

Post a Comment