As Hunter Biden was being indicted on federal gun charges, much of the nation was shocked when New Mexico’s Governor came out with a gun ban because of the number of shootings that had taken place recently. If you think for a minute that the left is letting up on taking our guns you had better think again.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an emergency public health order that suspends the open and permitted concealed carry of firearms in Albuquerque for 30 days. The immediate reaction from the legacy press was a big hurrah while the New Mexico attorney general and the County sheriff called the emergency order unconstitutional and refused to enforce the governor’s order.
She claimed that “No constitutional right, in my view, including my oath, is intended to be absolute,” and actually had the audacity to cite restrictions on free speech as an example of how rights can be curtailed during an emergency. Even Elon Musk asked how soon this person could be removed from office.
Biden continues to call for a ban on assault weapons while his new IRS agents are being armed to the teeth. Gun and Ammo stores across New York State were inundated with purchasers of both guns and ammo as New York’s new law that requires retailers to send gun purchasers background checks through the N.Y. State Police instead of the FBI, which will also include checks on those purchasing bullets. There will also be a new fee of $2.50 for ammo purchases and $9.00 for firearms. Many dealers say they will be closing their shops rather than dealing with these new onerous regulations.
This is what happens when liberal-minded government officials control and interpret the laws enacted by our legislators. A perfect example is in June of 2022 congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). The purpose of this act according to Senators Cornyn and Tillis, was to “protect America’s children, keep our schools safe, and reduce the threat of violence across our country,” but as usual the leftist Department of Education has misinterpreted this act. The aim of this $1 billion bill was to “protect America’s children”. At issue is a section of the bill that prohibits the use of these funds for “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” The purpose of these funds was to provide enrichment programs not to be used for resource officers’ training.
As usual, Biden’s Department of Education came up with its own interpretation of the BSCA which you can read here: https://oese.ed.gov/files/2023/04/23-0083.BSCA-FAQs.pdf .
According to the Dept. of Ed., states qualifying for this grant funding are required to ensure schools don’t use these funds “for training in the use of a dangerous weapon.” We should all remember that good intentions do not always make for good consequences when dealing with bureaucratic agencies like the Dept. of Education. This law was never intended to preclude funding for archery and hunting education programs. It is a liberal democratic appointed by Biden as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona who has given his interpretation of this bill to exclude archery and hunting education programs with this funding.
There are schools that have already begun cancelling archery and hunting education programs which are so important to many students who want to engage in these skills. We are once again seeing the power that the executive branch holds over agencies like the Dept. of Education to manipulate legislation. Here we have a bill that was meant to foster safety and learning skills for these shooting sports shifted into a bill that bans these shooting sports because of interpretation. Parents should check to see if these types of classes have been cut or curtailed in their school programs.
Idahoans should also be wary of many of our own legislators and local government officials, for while we are still only a purple state, it would not take much to see us shift to being blue and see our Second Amendment rights being curtailed in an emergency situation. It might be a good thing to check with your local elected sheriffs to be sure that they are strong constitutionalists and would not obey edicts issued by government officials in emergency situations that would curtail any of our constitutional rights — especially the right to keep and bear arms.
Don’t think for a minute that the left is not coming for our guns, and remember the Second Amendment is there to protect us from an unlawful government that would seek to disarm us. The Idaho Freedom Caucus sent out an article earlier this week about prioritizing making Idaho the strongest 2A sanctuary state in the country. Our more moderate legislature has come very close to passing some quite onerous RED FLAG LAWS and as we have told you each year our house and senate become less conservative.
We need to preserve our Second Amendment rights with some very strong legislation and urge you to contact your representatives or members of the Freedom Caucus to let them know that you want our Second Amendment rights strengthened in our state.
You can find their website here: https://idahofreedomcaucus.org/
As I always say: “We Get the Government We Deserve”.
