With the election behind us, it’s time for many to turn their focus on actually legislating. I know, it’s a strange concept, but legislatures convene in January across this great land of ours.
I’d like to believe that lawmakers wouldn’t be stupid about the bills they file, but I know better. We’re going to see a lot of terrible ideas be presented and we’re going to see some of them even become law.
And we’re also going to see a lot of bills filed that are never going anywhere.
For example, it seems there have been a buttload of gun control bills filed in Texas, of all places.
Nearly 100 anti-gun measures were submitted in the first week of pre-filing ahead of the upcoming legislative session next year.
Among Democrat-filed legislation to undermine the Second Amendment are House Bill 234, HB 478, HB 655, and HB 893. All four measures aim to enact red-flag gun confiscation laws, which would strip law-abiding citizens of their firearms without due process.
HB 623 by State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D-Missouri City) would ban semi-automatic firearms under the guise of an assault weapons ban.
Other proposed legislation, including HB 306, HB 313, HB 384, HB 579, and HB 1150, aims to disarm military-aged adults.
Additional measures to impose universal background checks on private firearm transfers would effectively create a federal-style gun registration, according to TXGR. These proposals include HB 397, HB 682, HB 808, and HB 828.
TXGR also says that measures like HB 461, HB 874, and HB 883 would “mandate state-level gun registration by requiring firearm dealers to report multiple purchases to authorities.”
Other proposals by State Rep. Terry Meza (D-Irving) target home gunsmithing and privately made firearms and ban standard capacity magazines, effectively criminalizing magazines holding more than a handful of rounds. Additionally, HB 834 by State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) would end open carry in Texas.
In the Texas Senate, there’s also a bill to repeal campus carry.
Of course, since there haven’t been any issues with campus carry, I think it’s safe to say that one’s not going anywhere.
The bill to “disarm military-aged adults” means it targets those adults under the age of 21.
Now, all of this is interesting, but I don’t really see what Democrats think they’re going to accomplish. They don’t have a majority literally anywhere in state government. I don’t think they force votes on these bills and even if they somehow manage to do so, there’s no chance in Hades of these passing and being signed into law.
Instead, they wrote up a bunch of bills that are going to languish in obscurity until they die on the vine. Plus, with the number of bills they threw into the mix, Republicans don’t even have to spend their time fighting individual bills. They can offer blanket support for gun rights and criticism of gun control in a very general sense and not really have to focus on one particular aspect of the gun debate. They’re making it easier, in my humble opinion.
Of course, I suspect some of these bills will merge. Others will be pulled because there are similar bills filed already. The total number of anti-gun measures will likely drop.
The stupidity of them in aggregate won’t, though.
Read the full article here
