WASHINGTON — Conservative lawmakers in at least 11 states are pushing legislation that would prevent state law enforcement from enforcing some or all federal gun restrictions. Proponents of these bills are emboldened by the success of marijuana legalization at the state level and claim that federal law enforcement is stretched too thin to stop them.
Right now, there are a number of federal laws restricting various kinds of gun use. For example, felons, fugitives, people convicted of domestic abuse misdemeanors and people subject to certain domestic restraining orders are restricted from buying guns under federal law. And no civilians are allowed to buy newly manufactured machine guns.
In Montana, the state House passed legislation earlier this month that would prohibit the enforcement of any potential federal ban or restriction on firearms and magazines. If a Montana cop did enforce such a federal law, it would be considered theft of public money. The Montana bill says that state employees are still allowed to enforce some federal laws — for example, the ban on machine guns. But most states that have introduced this type of legislation have used broader language.
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The Brady Campaign argues that the Kansas law is reminiscent of certain states’ efforts in the 1950s to fight federal law requiring the integration of African-American students into all-white schools. Jonathan Lowy, director of the Legal Action Project at the Brady Campaign, told HuffPost that these kinds of gun laws are “blatantly unconstitutional” and “extraordinarily dangerous” if permitted by the courts.
The Obama administration has agreed that the Kansas law is unconstitutional. “I am writing to inform you that federal law enforcement agencies… will continue to execute their duties to enforce all federal firearm laws,” Attorney General Eric Holder told Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in an April 2013 letter.
