GUN BILL UPDATE: Yesterday the House Rules Committee held a work session on SB 554 (concealed carry restrictions). The purpose of this session was twofold: first, to amend SB 554 with Amendment A-36; and second, to recommend the amended bill to the House floor with a Do Pass recommendation. Both motions passed on a party-line vote.
As before, the effects of this amendment are complex, and it is worth your while to read this amendment carefully. It combines SB 554 with HB 2510 (safe storage). It also changes some of the worst parts of each bill. Changes include, but are not limited to, the following:
For the Safe Storage portions:
- Strict liability has been removed from the safe storage portion. Instead, the violation is “negligence per se” and “The presumption of negligence may not be overcome by a showing that the person acted reasonably.”
- Guns must be sold with an engaged trigger or cable lock or in a locked container.
- OHA is no longer charged with defining criteria for locking mechanisms or containers.
- Unlike the prior amendment, locked gun rooms do count as secure containers now.
For the SB 554 (concealed carry) portions:
- Concealed carry bans may be imposed for government buildings, major airports (over 1 million passengers per year), and grounds managed by a college or school system. (The prior amendment applied to school buildings, but not to school grounds.)
- If someone brings a firearm into a prohibited zone and has a concealed handgun license, and can show that they had a license in court, it’s now a misdemeanor instead of a felony.
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