With the campus carry bill that Governor Otter just signed into law taking up all the oxygen in Idaho, few were paying attention to the effective nullification bill that is now going to the Governor's desk.
S1332 is effective nullification of federal gun confiscation. It unanimously passed the senate and the house!
The bill is likely to be signed by Governor Otter. It effects legislation, executive orders, or other federal actions that take place after it becomes law, and unlike other attempts at nullification law, it does not prescribe penalties for federal officers, only for state and local officers.
The bill makes it illegal for state and local officers to order confiscations of firearms required by future federal law. This type of action has long been established as constitutional, with recent precedents. The medical marijuana laws are a clear example.
There are several exceptions in the law that account for its unanimous passage. Court orders from a judge are excepted. The law explicitly allows for cooperation with federal agents on drug and gang prosecutions. Still, the principle of state nullification by refusal to cooperate is significant, even if for the relatively narrow circumstances of direct firearms or accessory confiscations, without court orders.
The law would effect a future federal ban on the possession of standard capacity magazines, for example. State officials would be prohibited from ordering confiscation of such magazines.
©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch
This is really funny since last year I emailed tons of reps in Idaho about nullification, most of which responded along the lines 'nullification doesn't work and isn't worth our time, go away...'
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