LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

BREAKING NEWS: U.S. House of Representatives Passes “Assault Weapons” Ban Legislation (Sunday, July 31, 2022, 10:00am)

On Friday, The U.S. House of Representatives, in a vote of 217-213, passed a bill, H.R. 1808, titled “The Assault Weapons Ban of 2022”, that would ban the import, sale, manufacture, transfer or possession of a long list of currently legal semi-automatic weapons, including “AK types”, “AR types” and other so-called “assault weapons”, and of “large capacity ammunition feeding devices” after the date of enactment of the bill into law. Weapons and magazines owned prior to enactment would be grandfathered, but the bill would require all transfers of existing “assault weapons”, including private sales of grandfathered weapons, be subject to a background check. Two Republicans, Chris Jacobs (NY) & Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), voted in favor of the law, and five Democrats voted against it.

The legislation now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it is not expected to pass due to the high hurdle of requiring 10 Republican votes in the evenly split 50-50 Republican/Democrat chamber to avoid a filibuster.

The actual text of the bill, as passed, including a list of weapons specifically being outlawed, can be found here: Text – H.R.1808 – 117th Congress (2021-2022): Assault Weapons Ban of 2022 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress (click on link)

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BREAKING NEWS: South Carolina Joins Coalition of States in Opposing Biden Administration Gun Regulations (Thursday, July 28, 2022, 1:30pm)

South Carolina has joined a 17-state coalition challenging the Biden administration’s proposed gun control laws. South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced that the state has joined a group of attorneys general from 17 states in filing a complaint dated July 27 against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Acting Director of ATF over proposed rules that would violate the Second Amendment. The coalition joined Morehouse Enterprises, Gun Owners of America, and the Gun Owners Foundation to fight the Biden administration over the ATF’s rulemaking that would regulate firearm parts manufacturers.

“The Second Amendment cannot be tampered with by this administration. If it had its way, it would erase the Second Amendment,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said. The complaint alleges that ATF’s rulemaking takes steps toward the illegal creation of a national firearms registry by requiring firearms retailers to keep all sales records beyond their current 20-year retention requirement and eventually turn them over to the ATF instead of responsibly destroying them.

Joining the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

You can read the complaint here: complaint-with-states-7-27-to-file.pdf (scag.gov)

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BREAKING NEWS: House Judiciary Committee Advances “Assault Weapons” Ban Legislation (Thursday, July 21, 2022, 12:30pm)

Late last night, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee advanced legislation, H.R. 1808, titled the “Assault Weapons Ban of 2022”, that would ban the sale of currently legal, commonly owned sporting rifles, shotguns, handguns, and standard capacity magazines. In addition, the committee also approved legislation, H.R. 2814, titled the “Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act”, that would repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and release sensitive law enforcement data relating to crimes involving firearms to the public.

Both bills now advance to the full House of Representatives for a vote, which could occur as early as next week.

Members of the Mid-Carolina Rifle Club who have an opinion on this matter are encouraged to exercise their rights as citizens and contact their Representatives and Senators to politely and respectfully inform them of their position on this legislation.

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REGULATORY NEWS: SCPRT Policy Regarding Concealed Weapons in SC State Parks (Friday, July 15, 2022, 2:00pm)

It was brought to our attention earlier this week that the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism (SCPRT), which operates and maintains the S.C. state park system, has adopted a policy prohibiting concealed carry within South Carolina state parks, and has posted notices regarding this policy on their website, and, according to the reported information, within some parks themselves.

While it appears that such a policy would be contrary to the explicit wording of the S.C. State Statutes, which, while prohibiting carrying weapons in state parks, specifically exempts persons carrying a concealable weapon and its ammunition pursuant to the S.C. concealed weapon carry laws, the SCPRT is of the opinion that this exemption is “not absolute” and that SCPRT has the right to regulate concealed carry within its parks.

In an e-mail from the SCPRT, their Director of Corporate Communications shared SCPRT’s legal arguments supporting their position. In summary, SCPRT is arguing that the buildings in SC parks are state public buildings in which concealed carry is prohibited, and that it would be logically inconsistent to allow concealed carry in other areas of the parks while it is prohibited in the park buildings. SCPRT also argues that, since educational programs are conducted in state parks, the parks are “campuses” similar to schools, colleges & universities, in which concealed carry is prohibited by law.

Furthermore, SCPRT notes that certain S.C. state parks (specifically 6 of the 47 parks) are located on land leased from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and S.C. law states that concealed carry permits don’t authorize carrying weapons in locations where it is prohibited by federal law. Accordingly, according to SCPRT, concealed carry must be prohibited in those 6 parks, and allowing concealed carry in the remaining 41 state parks would create “inconsistent rules regarding firearms lead[ing] to public confusion and difficulties in enforcement for park staff,” so concealed carry can and should be prohibited in all 47 state parks.

Finally, SCPRT notes that nature trails in S.C. state parks are well-trafficked, and animal attacks are extremely rare, if not unheard of, which means that visitors to the state parks do not need firearms to protect themselves.

Mid-Carolina Rifle Club is not taking any official position regarding this policy of SCPRT, but does caution its members, many of whom enjoy outdoor activities and may partake in the opportunities provided by the S.C. state park system, to keep this policy in mind while visiting state parks in the future.

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https://midcarolinarifleclub.us/legislative-updates-archive/

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