Okay, folks, brace yourselves for this one.
Rep. Leo Berman (R-Tyler) filed a bill on February 26 of this year that apparently went unnoticed by many Texans until this month, when it was reported favorably by the House Committee on Public Safety on Friday, May 1 with 5 Ayes and not a single Nay. The Committee report was sent to Calendars yesterday, and the bill could possibly be heading for a House vote.
The bill in question is HB 1863. Put simply, if passed and signed into law, this bill would make any firearms, firearm parts, or ammunition made and sold in Texas exempt from all Federal firearms regulation. If you legally own a pistol that was made in Texas, as long as you keep it within Texas, you would not have to undergo an NICS background check or adhere to any Federal laws regarding that particular pistol.
Text of HB 1863 (PDF format):
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/HB01863H.pdf
History of HB 1863 in the Texas Legislature:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/BillLookup/History.aspx?LegSess=81R&Bill=HB1863
The reason for this bill? Rep. Berman explained in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article that HB 1863 "tests our sovereignty in relationship to the federal government, and it would attract new small gun manufacturers to the state to manufacture certain types of weapons and ammunition that are only used in intrastate commerce." This may be yet another push for state soveriegnty, echoing Gov. Rick Perry's April 15 speech in which he hinted at Texas secession from the Union. Me, I'm not too keen on this whole secession business. Texas already tried being an independent nation, and we gave it the old college try, but we fare much better as a state than as a republic.
Every part of a particular firearm would have to be made in Texas in order for HB 1863 to exempt the gun from Federal law, and the gun could never leave Texas soil.
I'll try to follow this in greater detail over the next day or so.
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It could leave Texas, it would just need to go through an FFL when the gun departs the state.
ReplyDeleteAFAIK, this is basically the same bill as in Montana.
I honestly see no reason for this bill to be linked to secession, sovereignty sure, but not secession. If you notice, it is the author of the piece that brings in Perry, not the lawmakers pushing the bill.
"Every part of a particular firearm would have to be made in Texas in order for HB 1863 to exempt the gun from Federal law, and the gun could never"
ReplyDeleteThe above statement is incorrect.
The bill ( http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/html/HB01863I.htm ) clearly states that "generic and insignificant part(s)" are exempt from the "Made in Texas" rule.
Generic and insignificant parts are defined in the bill as any part that is not specifically for use on a firearm, a firearm accessory or ammunition. It states "The term includes a spring, screw, nut and pin."