With President Joe Biden expected to sign as many as six new executive orders this week pertaining to gun control, the State of Arizona has acted proactively to make those and any other federal gun restrictions moot. On Tuesday, Arizona Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed H.B. 2111, aka the Second Amendment Freedom Act, which states, “an act, law, treaty, order, rule or regulation of the United States Government that violates Amendment II of the Constitution of the United States is null, void and unenforceable in this state.”
Biden is being encouraged by anti-Second Amendment forces to act against firearms in the wake of shooting incidents in Georgia and Colorado last month. The Arizona legislature and Governor Ducey are attempting to block those coming actions and any other unconstitutional anti-Second Amendment measures from the federal government.
The sponsor of the legislation is State Representative Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu City). According to Biasiucci, the act is meant to protect law-abiding gun owners in Arizona from federal overreach.
“If the federal government does anything that tries to infringe on our second amendment in the State of Arizona, we’re not going to comply,” Biasiucci said. “I was voted into office to protect our constitution. The Biden administration was clear that they want to ban AR-15s, high capacity magazines, and we don’t think that’s right. Our Arizona gun laws are strong and we believe that law-abiding gun owners have the right to bear arms.”
Ducey claimed that the new law will protect Arizona gun owners from knee-jerk reactions in Washington, D.C.
“I think that whenever there are these mass shootings we start talking about laws that simply won’t fix the problem,” Ducey said. “There is a lot of discussion out of Washington about Congressional action around the Second Amendment and this law was simply to protect the rights we already enjoy in Arizona.”
Others were not so positive about the new law. Anti-Second Amendment group Moms Demand Action released a statement calling the new bill “dangerous,” and “unconstitutional.”
“Today, our state became a little less safe,” said Moms Demand Action volunteer Sophia Ramirez. “It’s disappointing that our lawmakers and governor continue to take Arizona backwards and ignore the will of constituents who want stronger gun safety laws – especially to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.”
Lawsuits are already being drawn up to challenge the new law in court and anti-gun zealots believe that it will be ultimately overturned in court.
Stephanie Richardson, also of Moms Demand Action, believes that the law is more of a symbolic act rather than real legislation.
“I really question what this law is for other than just being performative and political theater,” Richardson said.
Of course, the same thing could be said about President Biden’s executive orders, which were announced today and are certain to be challenged legally by pro-Second Amendment groups.
Those orders include targeting so-called ghost guns, which are homemade firearms usually assembled from parts bought online; reduced access to pistol stabilizing braces, one of which might have been used in the recent Boulder, Colorado, shooting; an order for the Department of Justice to draft “red flag” laws for states to use as models; and federal support for programs aimed at “reducing gun violence in urban communities through tools other than incarceration.”
According to Biden, “this is just a start.”
Biden’s latest executive orders come as gun-control legislation passed by House Democrats has stalled in the Senate, where the legislation is likely to be met with opposition by some Democrats, killing the bills’ chances of succeeding.
By signing the Second Amendment Freedom Act, Arizona becomes the fifth state to declare itself a so-called Second Amendment Sanctuary, joining Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, and Wyoming, which all have similar laws on their books.
Other states, most notably Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas boast large numbers of counties that have declared themselves Second Amendment Sanctuaries.
And that’s where the answer to draconian overreach, such as the executive orders from the Biden administration, lies — with state and local governments. The New American has long reported on the role nullification can play when the federal government takes actions that go against the Constitution. It’s far past time for states to stand up against the nonsense coming from Washington, D.C.
