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Wyoming Asserts Rights

Awesome.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal on Thursday signed into law a bill that seeks to exempt firearms made in Wyoming and used exclusively in the state from federal regulations, making the state the latest to try to undermine federal authority on gun regulation.

Montana, Tennessee and Utah have already passed similar legislation to exempt firearms made in their states from federal regulations and Idaho and Alaska have been considering it.

A lawsuit over the issue is brewing in Montana, where gun advocates are arguing that the state should decide which rules, if any, should control the sale and purchase of guns made and used in the state.

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The bill states that any federal official who tries to enforce federal regulations on guns made in Wyoming and sold within the state would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a jail time and fines.

Freudenthal states in his letter that any attempt to charge federal officials would be removed to federal court, where they would likely be found to be immune to state charges.

The Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has informed gun dealers in Montana and Tennessee that, in the agency’s opinion, the new state laws don’t relieve gun dealers of their responsibility to follow federal firearms laws and regulations in gun sales, regardless of where the guns were made.

The Department of Justice, however, filed a brief in U.S. District Court in Montana early this year arguing that federal control of guns is a “valid exercise of Congress’ commerce power under the Constitution.”

The goal of the states’ measures are to circumvent federal authority over interstate commerce, the legal basis for most gun regulation in the U.S.

Posted by Owen at 1128 hrs
Firearms + Law + Politics + Politics - General

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