House bill would yank funding from states that pull a Grisham

AP Photo/Morgan Lee

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham isn’t in Congress, but she’s been responsible (or at least the inspiration) for several bills in both the House and Senate in the wake of her unorthodox and unconstitutional decision to unilaterally suspend the right to carry in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. First, we saw a push in both chambers to block Joe Biden from similarly declaring a “gun violence public health emergency” in order to impose executive branch restrictions on the right to keep and bear arms, and now a West Virginia representative is proposing a plan that would punish other jurisdictions that engage in the same kind of infringements we’ve seen from Grisham.

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Rep. Alex X. Mooney (R-W.Va.) introduced H.R. 5767, the No Gun Rights Infringement Sham Act, or No GRISHAM Act, to prohibit states or local governments that suspend concealed or open firearm carry permits from receiving any federal financial assistance.

Nine House Republicans signed onto the bill as original cosponsors: Reps. Andy Biggs, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, Carol Miller, Mary Miller, Barry Moore, Ralph Norman, Andy Ogles, and Claudia Tenney.

“This order is a direct attack on the Second Amendment Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The Governor is in direct violation of her oath of office to uphold the U.S Constitution.” said Congressman Alex X. Mooney. “No state government that so deliberately disregards your constitutional rights should receive a single federal dollar.”

The National Shooting Sports Foundation and the NRA are both supporting Mooney’s bill, with NSSF senior vice president and general counsel Larry Keane declaring that the legislation “is a stark reminder in a language that only certain politicians can understand – money. Politicians who meddle in the lawful commerce of firearms and tamper with Constitutional rights should and under this bill will pay a price.”

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The chances of H.R. 5767 actually being enshrined into law are slim to none, but the bill could put Democrats in a bind if it comes up for a vote on the House floor. New Mexico’s Democratic congressional delegation, for instance, has been split on Grisham’s unconstitutional order. Rep. Gabe Vasquez announced he’d vote in favor of a resolution condemning the governor’s actions, while Rep. Melanie Stansbury has offered up tepid support for Grisham while accusing Republicans of using the governor’s order as a distraction from a looming government shutdown.

In theory, Mooney’s bill should be something that draws wide and bipartisan support. After all, who’s really in favor of allowing usurpations of authority to go unchecked and unpunished, especially when it results in depriving people of their fundamental right to protect themselves?

A lot of Democrats (and sadly, probably even a few Republicans) on Capitol Hill, that’s who.

If nothing else, Mooney’s bill is a chance to put every House member on record about delivering consequences to politicians who willfully disregard their constitutional oath, whether for political gain or their personal conviction that the right to bear arms is a wrong that must be eradicated. Given the current chaos in Congress, who knows when H.R. 5767 could receive a committee hearing or a floor vote, but I’m all in favor of bringing it forward at the first opportunity.

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