Today, House Bill 2792 was, as we expected, gut and stuffed so all the language that recognized other states’ handgun licenses was removed.
Yesterday we told you about the amendments we expected to be added to the bill, so their adoption was not a surprise. What was a surprise was who made the motion to adopt the amendments. The motion to adopt the amendments was made by Republican Jeff Kruse.
Senator Doug Whitsettapproved of the amendments and the gut and stuffed bill was moved to the Senate floor.
The amendments include the language that would clarify how to lawfully carry a firearm on a motorcycle, snowmobile or ATV. But all this language existed in a clean stand alone bill that was mangled by Senate Judiciary Chair Floyd Prozanski. That mangled bill, HB 2797 now also includes a ban on concealed carry on school grounds. 2797 is almost certainly dead, so getting the motorcycle language in a bill that could pass has a benefit, but all of this could have been easily accomplished by simply passing a clean version of HB 2797!
The amended version of HB 2792 also includes Prozanski’s language to restrict felon’s ability to apply for gun rights restoration. Both Republican Senators expressed reservations about the broadness of the new restrictions but both voted to gut and stuff the bill. Senator Kruse, after making the motion to approve the amendments commented that he really had not had time to read them in any depth.
There is one gun bill left in Senate Judiciary, HB 2787. This was the original CHL privacy bill.
That bill is scheduled for a work session tonight at 5:30 PM. Given what has taken place in the Senate Judiciary Committee so far, the best we can hope for is that the bill just dies.