I, for one, would certainly like to see this little nugget become law here in West Virginia:
CHARLESTON, W. Va. (Jan. 17, 2019) – A bill introduced in the West Virginia House would nullify all state and local gun control regulations and help to create a “sanctuary” for gun owners in that state.
Delegate Pat McGeehan (R-Hancock) introduced House Bill 2170 (HB2170) on Jan. 9. The legislation would make all future federal, state and local statutes, ordinances, laws, orders and rules concerning firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition and their accouterments invalid and unenforceable within the state.
The bill reads, in part:
All current and future federal, state, and local statutes, ordinances, laws, orders, rules, and any other actions which attempt to restrict, tax, or regulate the possession, use, discharge in lawful self-defense, transportation, purchase, acquisition, sale, transfer, ownership, carrying, manufacture, or repair of firearms, firearm accessories, ammunition and their accouterments contradict the true meaning and original intent of the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and Section twenty-two, Article III of the Constitution of the State of West Virginia. Those statutes, ordinances, laws, orders and rules which violate the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of West Virginia are invalid, and therefore, are null and void.
Under the proposed law, any person who attempts to enforce any future federal, state or local gun control laws would be guilty of a felony and if convicted would face up to two years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
HB1270 would also obligate the state attorney general to defend any citizen of West Virginia prosecuted by the United States Government for violation of a federal law relating to the possession, use, discharge in lawful self-defense, transportation, purchase, acquisition, sale, transfer, ownership, carrying, manufacture, or repair of a firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition.
With so many activists and organizations putting all their energy into how to protect gun rights in D.C., bills like HB2170 serve as an excellent example of how to resist federal gun control at the state level. The spirit of its text is in keeping with a “refusal to cooperate with officers of the Union” as James Madison’s put in Federalist #46. It deprives the feds of critical state resources necessary to make enforcement of these laws viable. That alone is enough to make these laws DOA in the state.
If enough states followed suit, the collective action would moot any future proposals by even the most ardent gun grabbers in D.C.
