Gun bill generates email flood
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
By Ben Cannon
Jackson Hole, Wyo.-A pair of similar bills moving through the Wyoming Legislature have generated more emails to state congressional members than any other bill in memory, according to one of Teton County’s representatives in Cheyenne.
Rep. Keith Gingery said he has received hundreds of emails from Wyoming residents who support the Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act or a related bill.
The bills would deregulate federal gun laws for any firearm made and kept in Wyoming. One gun manufacturer, Freedom Firearms, which custom makes single action revolvers, is located in Lincoln County.
Gingery said the daily deluge of emails asking him to support one of the state firearm bills reflects a growing anger toward Washington.
“The theme of the session is a very strong push-back to federal government, and a lot of bills and resolutions right now reflect that,” Gingery said in a phone interview.
The state legislature is in the second week of its annual month-long session.
While the original Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act seeks to deregulate firearms and ammunition made and permanently kept in Wyoming, the second bill takes state sovereignty a step further. House Bill HB-95 authorizes state and local law enforcement to arrest anyone who tries to enforce federal gun laws over a firearm manufactured and kept in Wyoming, including federal agents.
The lawmakers who introduced the bills argue that if a Wyoming-made gun doesn’t cross a state line, it’s not an issue of interstate commerce and therefore the federal government should have no say in the matter. Montana has passed a bill similar to the Firearms Freedom Act.
The volume of emails is due to the fact that form letters of support are circulating online. The interest from citizens in all parts of the state, including Teton County, may reflect the growing Tea Party movement nationwide that calls for less federal government.
Gingery said many of the emails he’s getting don’t support the Firearms Freedom Act, but the more aggressive HB-95.
“They say to go with House Bill 95. They almost all belittle the [Wyoming Firearms Freedom Act] as a weak bill,” he said.
The tone of some of the emails is almost confrontational.
“You’re either with us or against us,” wrote one woman who suggested the original bill be withdrawn in favor of HB-95.
A Devil’s Tower man sent an email that stated, “We need the STRONGEST state laws against the continuous encroachment of the federal government.”
Gingery on Monday said it was too soon to judge whether the bills had more than fringe support in the House. He said he had no position on the gun deregulation bills yet, but had prepared questions to ask once legislators turn to the issue in a floor discussion.
How, for example, would it affect a state law that takes away gun privileges from men convicted of domestic violence? Or what happens if a Wyoming-made gun accidentally goes to South Dakota during a hunting trip?
“This goes beyond the issue of firearms; it’s more an issue of state rights,” Gingery said. JHW
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Gun bill generates email flood | Planet JH News Article: General News
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