Idaho Dispatch

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Gun Bill Clears Idaho Senate, Heads to Idaho House Committee

By • April 21, 2021

President Joe Biden has asked Congress to send him some forms of gun control such as a ban on weapons such as the AR-15 and magazines that hold more than ten rounds.

Biden also signed several executive orders in recent weeks regarding “ghost guns” and other items such as arm braces. Currently, several dozen gun-control measures exist currently in Congress.

The Idaho Senate has now passed SB 1205, called the “Idaho Firearm and Firearm Accessories and Components Protection Act.”

Several months ago, Sen. Christy Zito (R-Hammett) began the effort in the Idaho Senate to expand Idaho’s currently existing Second Amendment Protection Act law.

Eventually, she introduced House Bill 300. However, the bill was stalled in the Idaho House State Affairs Committee.

Senator Todd Lakey (R-Nampa) re-wrote HB 300 into a Senate bill at the request of Senate leadership. SB 1205 is sponsored by Lakey and Sen. Patti Anne Lodge (R-Caldwell).

All Republican state senators are listed as co-sponsors of the bill.

Lakey opened the debate and went over what was contained in the bill. Lakey said in part of his opening debate,

This bill makes it clear that we do not agree with the direction that our current federal administration is headed on the 2nd Amendment. Article 1 Section 11 of the Idaho constitution addresses our right to keep and bear arms. Our constitution in Idaho protects those rights more strongly and more specificially then the U.S. constitution.

Three Democrat Senators stood up to debate against the bill. Sen. Michelle Stennett (D-Ketchum), Sen. Grant Burgoyne (D-Boise), and Sen. Melissa Wintrow (D-Boise) were the three Democrat senators to stand in opposition to the bill.

Stennett said during the closing of her debate,

I am very concerned about what would happen if we ended up going up against preemptive laws or sovereignty about how we would actually be able to manage without a lengthy, expensive duration in our court system at the taxpayer expense.

Wintrow said in part of her debate gainst the bill,

I would be remiss if I didn’t represent the majority of constituents that I represent and indicate that this is not a concern of theirs. The 2nd Amendment is protected quite well in our state. I don’t think that’s under siege or anything like that.

Of the Republicans to stand up and debate in favor of the bill, Sen. Jim Rice (R-Caldwell) and Zito debated in favor of the measure.

Zito thanked gun owners in Idaho for helping push the issue of protecting the 2nd Amendment and said, in part,

We know that the massive force of an overgrown federal government is the driving force of an executive branch that is anti-gun and have said that they will come after our 2nd Amendment with a vengeance that would never have been thought of in this great land. This bill protects the citizens of the state of Idaho from that.

SB 1205 now heads to the House State Affairs Committee for a public hearing. Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) said that he anticipates a hearing sometime this week on the bill.

What are your thoughts on SB 1205?

Let us know in the comments below.

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Tags: 2nd Amendment, Christy Zito, Idaho Firearm and Firearm Accessories and Components Protection Act, Melissa Wintrow, Michelle Stennett, SB 1205, Todd Lakey

24 thoughts on “Gun Bill Clears Idaho Senate, Heads to Idaho House Committee

  1. 100% behind Senator Zito A well armed people are a free people and we the people have a God given right to defend and protect ourselves, our loved one’s and those who can’t defend themselves. The 2nd amendment was put there for the exact reason we are facing right now a tyrannical overreach of the government that was fraudulently installed by the democratic party. God and Country…Let Freedom Reign !

  2. Article 1 Section 11 of the Idaho constitution already addresses our right to keep and bear arms and is designed to compliment the majority-will of the Idaho residents. I see no need to, nor will I support changing it. Further, I will lobby in public , and encourage others to do the same, against any representative of the State of Idaho ,who attempts to violate our right to bear arms as outlined in Article 1 Section 11 of the Idaho constitution.

  3. I WANT TO THANK THE TRUE REPRESENTATIVES who are diligently standing up for IDAHOs constituents and the US CONSTITUTION. God help us all if this bill fails. Please keep fighting for We the People.

  4. Does this bill stop any Federal agents from coming into our state and pushung their illegal laws or EO’s?

  5. Senator Christy Zito: Thank You!

    We appreciate your tenacity and resilience in getting SB1205 to a Successful Vote and on to the House.

    House: Get this out of Committee, onto the Floor and Passed!

  6. Sen. Michelle Stennett’s comment about ” how we would actually be able to manage without a lengthy, expensive duration in our court system at the taxpayer expense.”

    When has a Democrat ever cared about “taxpayer expense”? Only when they’re losing the argument.

  7. Make it happen. If those senators don’t like it they can move to a state that already agrees with their sentiments.

  8. Never before, more than ever in the history of our great nation, is a bill such as this more important. It is NOT about hunting. It is NOT even about home or personal defense. It is about defending our freedoms against a tyrannical government. Taking away our ability to do that is the definition of a tyrannical govenment.

  9. i agree with almost all the comments above. philip it would be interesting to see the pro’s and con’s of why you do not support this bill. gerald brings up a good point, how do we stop the feds. can we? lastly i would like to see a correction to the much bylined ar 15. ar stand for armalite rifle not automatic rifle. until this happens in the press, we will always be behind the 8 ball with anti gun advocates.

  10. It appears the best arguments the Democrats can come up with to oppose the bill is “we don’t want to have to get into a lawsuit with the Feds”… and “our protections are good enough… we see no reason for concern”.

    On those two statements alone, they should be removed from office, as they are either too naive/stupid to understand the nature and potential destructive force of a growing Federal leviathan, or are simply too lazy and spineless to want to challenge said Federal leviathan.

    As a non-resident who absolutely loves your state and wants to see it preserved, I’m very glad to see Idaho citizens and legislators taking active steps to secure their rights under the constitution and under natural law in any way they can. Keep up the good fight.

  11. Idaho – LOWEST homicide rate in the United States.

    Idaho – 3rd highest gun ownership rate in the United States.

    Stand strong Idaho… tell the Federal Government to butt out and tell blue state sh*t holes to solve their own cultural rot and stop blaming red states who respect the 2nd Amendment AND each other for your own despicable behavior.

  12. Democrat Senators Wintrow and Stennett make very weak arguments so it appears they have their heads buried in the sand if they do not sense the dangerous trend in federal overreach aiming to abolish not only the 2nd amendment, but the 1st amendment has already been under steady attack in the media. As soon as Biden claimed he won, staged shootings exploded everywhere in the obvious attempt to confiscate guns from Americans.

  13. This is absolutely what I want to see!! Thank you senators for working hard to protect our rights from our federal government! This is why I moved to the great state!!!! We want to be free and want to be protected! Please don’t stop fighting for us!

  14. 100% Behind the Passed 1205, as well Bless Zito and Lakey.

    Politics are dirty, but at the end of the day our protections are what it comes down to.
    I’m glad to see such huge support.

  15. Thank you Senator Zito. It was you that started HB 300 and kept the ball rolling to protect the 2A rights of Idahoans and I am most grateful to you for that. People that follow “E.O. JOE” and his tyrants in D.C. know the Dems want to totally dismantle not only our 2A rights but our entire constitution . I stand behind you 100% and know you will not stop until this bill is passed.
    Fight-Fight-Fight…..

  16. Thank you Senator Zito for bring this forth and Idaho Dispatch for your coverage and information on this subject. Keep up the fight against the tyrannical government.

  17. Early on with HB300 I reached out to my elected legislators and asked them to support Senator Zito’s and HB300. Sadly, neither of my representatives, Lauren Necochea or Chris Mathias responded. I did get a response from Senator Melissa Wintrow that she would not be supporting HB300 because Idaho code already has ample laws that address “gun safety” making HB300 “unnecessary”. I responded to Senator Wintrow and reminded her that HB300 was not a “gun safety” bill but a “gun ownership rights” bill. I also stated that HB300 was designed to protect Idahoans from Federal Government overreach and defend our Tenth Amendment protections.

    Idaho is a special place because our state constitution and laws protect us from the tyranny of big government. Idahoans have the freedom to make decisions about there lives and businesses as long as those decisions do not do harm to others. Our form of representative government respects the freedom of the individual and trusts that we will defend our liberties and pass on a better country to future generations. SB1205 supports that goal.

    Our constitution, in all its imperfect glory, is there to protect us form the elitists who believe they know better how to manage our lives. SB1205 is about more than gun rights. SB1205 is about state sovereignty and the rights of the individual to decide regardless of the issue at hand. SB1205 is a bold and patriotic statement in defense of those individual rights.

    Thank you Senator Zito and Representative Lakey, for standing strong for Idaho and our Tenth Amendment protections.

    1. HB300 was locked up by Patti Ann Lodge and several others in the Senate. It wasn’t until S1205 was authored (which was basically the original HB300 with only a few minor changes) that any of these Senators (other than Zito) even showed the remotest bit of interest in protecting our rights, including Lakey. We owe our thanks entirely to Christy Zito and the other patriotic citizens who stepped up in droves to call, email, and show up in favor of support of HB300.

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