SB 1160 Pulled? What To Make Of This Big News
Earlier this week, SB 1160, the latest “brainchild” of noted gun control advocate Sen. Anthony Portantino, was scheduled to be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee. That is, until Mr. Portantino’s team pulled the bill from the agenda.
A read of the Committee’s analysis of the bill provides some pretty clear indications of why the Senator thought better of having his new bill heard. Among the notable elements of the analysis:
- No supporters listed, but a truly dizzying array of opponents, including police officers’ associations up and down the state
- Questions raised by Committee staff about adding an additional firearms database to the multitudes already managed my DOJ, a problem DOJ itself complains about regularly.
- Concerns about the severity of the penalty and the lack of time for gun owners to comply.
- A stinging criticism of the bill from Delta Waterfowl, a national conservation group, decrying the bill as “excess tax on law-abiding sportsmen and women in our state, with the ultimate goal of firearm confiscation.”
- And, oh yes, Second Amendment concerns! Even this politically skewed Committee staff had to acknowledge that the “bill’s overall constitutionality is difficult to predict“, which is, at best ,an optimistic view of its chances of withstanding legal challenge.
CRPA sounded the alarm on this bill and we remain vigilant in fighting for its defeat. Make no mistake that Sen. Portantino and his ilk, backed by the Governor and well-funded activist groups, will not stop until legal gun ownership is taxed and regulated out of existence, leaving only the lawless in possession of guns.
This bill, in some form, is likely to be back. Stay strong!