Joint Judiciary Committee stops Gun Control bill

by Austin Hein

Last week, the Wyoming Joint Judiciary Committee voted 8-6 to kill a gun control bill that would have expanded the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The bill was a trojan horse for further restrictions on the people's right to keep and bear arms. Luckily, eight committee members were able to put a stop to "Fix NICS."

The bill's language is particularly dangerous as it appears to be a simple clean-up bill, aimed at exonerating people who are being falsely prohibited from owning firearms as well as prevent firearms from falling into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, "Fix NICS" bills are far more dangerous than they appear.

As the bill's moniker suggests, NICS is a broken system that violates the rights of tens of thousands of Americans each year. A study from 2010 reported that out of 73,000 denials that year, only 42 cases led to prosecution with only 13 cases leading to convictions. This leads to a broader question on the effectiveness of the NICS registry, in general.

While the proposed legislation included an exoneration process, it simply did not do enough to fix an irreparable system. "Fix NICS" bills can be incredibly dangerous and deny many Americans their rights. Specifically, there have been numerous instances of NICS being used against veterans. There was one particular case that happened in Indiana where a veteran was denied his Right to bear arms because he told his VA doctor that his wife handled the family finances. This is the danger of "Fix NICS" legislation.

The "Fix NICS" bill would have greatly expanded the government's ability to infringe on gun rights. Lucky for Wyoming, eight legislators stood strong to defend the people of Wyoming. The people's Right to bear arms shall not be infringed.

Note: The legislators who stopped "Fix NICS" were: Sen. Boner, Sen. Nethercott, Sen. Anselmi-Dalton, Sen. Kost, Rep. Jennings, Rep. Gray, Rep. Salazar, and Rep. Washut. I would also like to recognize Sen. Tom James for his effort.