Senate votes to override veto of gun ‘sovereignty' law :: 04/27/2021

The Senate today voted 21-12 to override Gov. Hutchinson’s veto of legislation to prevent state enforcement of federal gun laws. SB 298’s fate now turns to the House, which has adjourned for the day. It is to convene at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Arkansas prosecutors and the Game and Fish Commission have been among those urging that the veto be sustained. And the override came after some heated debate that indicated some had thought an override wouldn’t be attempted in favor of amending the bill to deal with problems cited by sheriffs, prosecutors and others.

Sen. Gary Stubblefield, sponsor of the bill, urged an override by saying he had a new bill that would correct problems in his original bill, which penalizes law officers who enforced the law and prohibits cooperation with feds on gun crimes. A key objection has been that hundreds of pending cases could be wiped out by the new law and Stubblefield said he had an amendment to avoid that potential.

That bill has not been introduced. Stubblefield said it would be.

Sen. Missy Irvin said gun shop owners had expressed concerns about his bill because of a fear they could lose licenses if they didn’t collect a federal tax, as the bill provides. Stubblefield said that issue was being investigated as well and that his amendment would eliminate penalties for state and local law officers who cooperated with the federal government on serious crimes.

Senate President Jimmy Hickey said he thought Stubblefield had agreed to amend his bill and not ask for the override. He said some 800 pending gun cases could collapse if the original bill is passed as written.

“This could have dire consequences for our citizens,” Hickey said.

He was echoed by Sen. Jonathan Dismang who said the law could jeopardize dozens of gun cases recently charged in White County. He said he’d understood the bill was going to be amended in the House, but it wasn’t. He said there’s no guarantee the problems will be fixed by a bill that has not even been filed.

Hickey and others addressed a gallery full of gun lobbyists and gun rights supporters and said he was an original supporter of the bill and strong on the 2nd Amendment. But in its current form, it has too many problems.

Sens. Alan Clark, Terry Rice and Mark Johnson urged a veto override. Rice said the federal government is “coming for guns.” They all said opponents had an opportunity to testify in committee. Rice also suggested the governor appeared to have “run out the clock” by waiting until the fifth day after receiving the bill to veto it.

Sen. Jim Hendren said on day 106 of the session it was time to go home, not to file a new bill. He said sheriffs had appeared to oppose the bill and even sponsors had acknowledged the bill has constitutional problems.

“We’ve been told the federal government is going to come get your guns. I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. But he said he knew some cases would be in danger and some people who should be prosecuted won’t be. “This is a bad bill … The last thing we need to do is override this veto out of pride.”

Sen. Bob Ballinger says constituents are saying, “protect me from D.C.” Whether that’s a legitimate fear or not, he said, that’s how they feel. He also contended the recess allows the legislature to take up the new bill. Hickey said that wasn’t true under the agreement for the recess. Ballinger said a majority vote could change that.

Sen. Missy Irvin said she’d pulled back in deference to Stubblefield from filing a bill to correct a problem a sheriff in her district had acknowledged on prosecuting pending cases. She said she’d file it today to demonstrate there was a passion to correct problems with the bill. Ballinger had argued a failure to override the veto might allow the bill to die.

Stubblefield said the legislature may stay in session through Friday under a joint resolution and not recess Tuesday as planned.

https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2021/04/26/senate-votes-to-override-veto-of-gun-sovereignty-law