It’s no secret that under newly appointed President Joe Biden, the Constitutional rights of every American have been increasingly infringed upon – and none more so than that of our Second Amendment, which gives us the right to keep and bear arms.
According to Biden and his administration, guns are a significant problem in the United States, allowing massive amounts of unnecessary violence to be carried out each year. And so he wants to limit we, the people’s, use of them – starting with a ban on “assault rifles,” high-capacity magazines, and firearm accessories such as a pistol stabilizing brace.
Of course, he fails to mention that putting such plans into practice will also limit our freedoms, making the American people that much more susceptible to being controlled by an overreaching government bent on gaining only more power and riches.
And so, it’s a good thing we have men and women like Republican Montana Governor Greg Gianforte in positions of state leadership.
On Friday, Gianforte signed into law and announced a bill that will essentially protect the Second Amendment rights of those living in his state, as well as limit the federal government’s plans to enforce any firearm-related ban or regulation.
It’s known as House Bill 258. What it does is effectively prohibits both state and local law enforcement from putting into practice any federal government-designed ban or regulation on guns, ammunition, or magazine. Additionally, the bill outlaws the use of any state funds to be used toward such national bans or laws on gun-related items.
As Gianforte wrote on his Twitter account, “Today, I proudly signed Rep. Hinkle’s law prohibiting federal overreach into our Second Amendment-protected rights, including any federal ban on firearms.”
He added, “I will always protect our #2A right to keep and bear arms.”
And my guess is that is citizens appreciate this effort and bill. After all, according to Montana Gun Trader, about 70 percent of adult residents in the northwestern own at least one firearm.
In fact, this isn’t even the first time such a bill has been proposed in Montana’s legislative bodies. In 2013, 2015, and 2017, a similar law was put forward and even passed by both the state Senate and House. However, thanks to then-Democratic Governor Steve Bullock, the proposals were always vetoed.
This year, thanks to the wise guidance of Gianforte, the bill has finally been pushed through.
Now, to be clear, Montana isn’t the only state to implement such a law in recent days.
Earlier in the month, on the 8th, to be exact, Arizona’s Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed what is known in his state as the “Second Amendment Firearm Freedom Act. This, like its sister bill in Montana, bans local and state police departments or sheriff offices from enforcing any federal bans on Arizonians.
Arkansas has also recently tried to enact such a law to protect Second Amendment rights for its people. However, their Republican Governor, Asa Hutchinson, doesn’t exactly have the same outlook as Gianforte and Ducey.
Instead, he vetoed the “Arkansas Sovereignty Act of 2021”, saying that it would put a wedge between state and federal governments that would put his citizens “at risk.”
He said in a statement about the recently shot down bill, “The partnership between state and federal law enforcement officers is essential for the safety of Arkansas citizens. This bill will break that partnership and put the safety of Arkansans at risk.”
Other opponents of the laws’ idea argue they would “make it difficult for local law enforcement to collaborate with federal authorities on issues beyond gun access when such collaboration is essential to protect public safety, including in cases of domestic violence and drug offenses,” according to The Associated Press.
However, I find it ironic, if not wholly hypocritical, that these tend to be the same people who condone sanctuary cities for illegal aliens and criminals, essentially banning their local law enforcement from cooperating with federal agencies on matters of immigration.
Why is one allowed and the other is not?
Furthermore, there’s still a good possibility that all of Biden’s recently proposed gun control measures will be found unconstitutional. And yet, those like Hutchinson don’t seem to care about that so much as keeping the peace between Biden’s admin and theirs.